


Arcane Meridian

by Bravehardt, Foxglove_Fiction, Stellarwind (Bravehardt)



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Don't copy to another site, Dreams and Nightmares, Fluff, Loki is a Shit Disturber, M/M, Magic, Shapeshifting, Slight Comic References, Slight Horror Elements, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-01-15 17:34:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 136,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21257042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Bravehardt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxglove_Fiction/pseuds/Foxglove_Fiction, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Stellarwind
Summary: Tony is an aspiring and gifted magus, recently enrolled in one of the most esteemed magic academies in the realm. He has aspirations to follow in his father's footsteps and specialize in Technomancy in order to carry on his family's legacy.His path is inevitably set astray when he steals a forbidden tome and dabbles in magic far beyond his comprehension. He dreams up a beast of incomprehensible power leagues above his conjuring skills and is inevitably joined at the hip with his 'creation'. His new companion might be the link to some of the greatest mysteries within the realm - the ever-present scourge spreading throughout the land, the nightmares he is constantly addled with, and the ultimate end to the most riddling and renown mystery of all which harbours the heart of all of his unanswered questions.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! Those of you who follow Bravehardt (Astral) on other sites might have an idea of what this is already, but for those who don't - welcome to Arcane Meridian! This plot bunny bit us well before Heart of Gold, but we wanted to take the time to properly organize and arrange this fic before we started writing it and sharing it, so we gave it time while we shared Heart of Gold with you all. Now it's time for more dragons! Of a fluffier nature!
> 
> This story is currently more than half written (and will definitely be finished, we're getting good at this consistency thing now!) so while we'll be continuing our twice a week updates, there may be a part where we take it back to once a week if we manage to fall behind. That said, we're more than a month ahead of this fic's updates, so it shouldn't be an issue. What _will change_ are the tags at some point, as things may adjust and alter as we write. None of the major warning tags are likely to change (unless the writing becomes more violent than anticipated) but the minor tags and the number of chapters may.
> 
> With all of that said, we hope that you enjoy!

The winds at that altitude whipped through the city, lashing large flakes of snow through the peaks of the capital’s summit. A municipality tucked away at the uppermost zenith of a mountain veiled in the snowy heights of a tall and seemingly endless cliff.

Despite the cold stormy weather around the exterior of the city, magical barriers and wards kept the insides nestled away from the howling gales that surrounded it. A habitat that unrealistically existed at such altitudes, flourishing with plants and trees, buildings and birds but had somehow sustained itself thanks to the ever-present abundancy of magic that ran like veins through the earth below it.

Magic was teeming in this place, and most humans and creatures had an innate sense of connection to it. This city - Dalaar - housed one of the most prestigious academies in existence for those who sought to hone their skills and rise above the rest. While it's capital resided at heights no human could climb to, portals made it’s access easy, thanks to the magical talent that lived within it.

This haven in the mountains was ground zero for many advanced students, one such being the son of one of the most skilled and wealthy magus in the world. Tony Stark was a man looking on to carry on the family name.

The name itself was known across the province through both its contribution to the mystic arts and the ground-breaking ingenuity of providing both technomantic resources and weapons. The bloodline bred the province's - nay, the world's - best and brightest inventors and arcanomantic talent. 

Tony hadn't been anywhere like this before. He'd been studying his entire life and only when he'd come of age was he whisked off to further his studies in the renown city. He knew nothing more about the academy at that point other than he had received a key for a dormitory and a name.

It was a change, getting away from both his home and father and stepping into something new. He opened the door to his apartment, his things having already been relocated for him, and now at the moment he was both waiting to meet his dormitory roommate and study partner who would be occupying the apartment until he locked into a specialization at the academy.

“Ah! Hi! Are you - I mean, obviously you’re, uh…” A young man rushed over to him, resting his hands on his knees and taking a couple deep breaths as though he’d been running, before pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose and brushing curls back out of his face.

“Tony Stark. That’s me. If you’re looking for an autograph, I’m afraid I only do those at signings,” Tony teased good-naturedly, and the man looked at him owlishly for a moment, before offering a hand.

“... I’m Bruce Banner. Your roommate?” The hand was withdrawn before Tony had a chance to even react to it, and the brunette smiled warmly.

“Oh thank goodness, I’ve been worried I’d have to find my own way around this place,” Tony hummed cheerfully, reaching to pat the man on the shoulder.

“If I knew my way around I wouldn’t have been late,” Bruce responded, giving a soft huff as he finally caught his breath. “So does that mean we’re both going to be lost? This sounds like a disaster.”

“Nah, I was just teasing. Besides, following the crowd is likely to get us precisely where orientation is, right? Follow all the excited expressions of wonder!” he smiled at Bruce as he started to lead them in the direction the crowd was going. “So what brings you here, Brucie?”

“Studying? Isn’t that why anyone comes here?”

Students milled about chatting in their small groups, some in traditional regalia, others wearing more modern fashions from their countries and kingdoms. Bright colours seemed to be the only common factor of people around him - well, that and the fact that all of them seemed to give him a second look.

He heard it now and again “Is that Tony Stark?” “No way, do you think?” “Stark made it here?” the whispers making him a little uneasy. It wasn’t unusual, exactly - everyone knew who he was in some way or another, and those who didn’t were quickly and easily filled in. The plagues of having such a prestigious name.

“He’s way hotter than I expected,” he heard to one side, and he offered a little wink to the gaggle of girls, who realized they’d been overheard and quickly shuffled along their way in a fit of giggles. Also not terribly unusual.

The crowd seemed to migrate like a steady stream into the lecture auditorium where a lineup of teachers stood before them in the center of the arching and plateaued theatre. Tony walked up to the back of the auditorium, nodding to Bruce to follow and they took a seat as the herd of students all settled into their place and waited for the orientation to begin.

Stan, the school's dean briefly introduced a few of the teachers who had volunteered for orientation, with Fury there to help out, escorted by a couple summoned familiars - an ethereal looking hawk and a large decorated tiger. As if it wasn't clear already, he'd introduced himself as the teacher in charge of Conjuration and to his left was Coulson, one of the TA's. Hank Pym, in charge of Enchantment studies just behind on his right, and Doctor Palmer, in charge of Abjuration - healing and defensive magics - on his left with her hands folded behind her back. 

The husband and wife duo of Odin, who taught Evocation, and Frigga, who taught Transmutation stood to the left of Doctor Palmer, with the young Divination teacher, William Kaplan, and the attractive Illusions teacher, Natasha Romanov, to the right of Hank Pym. Last to be introduced was the eccentric and enthusiastic Doctor Erik Selvig, the Apportation teacher that all of the students would be taking classes with regardless of their specialization.

"So, any idea what you plan on specializing in?" Bruce leaned over to keep his voice low, eyes trained on the professors currently drabbling on about the school.

"Yeah, Enchantment with a focus on Technomancy - you?" Tony kept focus, voice equally low. 

"Abjuration with a focus on Shields and Wards I think, maybe combat, though..." Tony had to laugh at Bruce's response.

"You do know those are two totally different specializations, right?" he jested above a whisper.

"Yeah, I'm still figuring that out," Bruce's eyes flicked from Tony to the front.

Stan had been droning out about stories of how the school was founded, a little bit of history and then there was more talk from the other teachers on the curriculum and systems of the school. How all the students shared dorms and picked their buddies based on their specialties, how the summoners quarters were separate, larger in order to accommodate the addition of having an animal companion and then how those with advanced standing needed to report afterwards if there were certain credits they wished to opt-out of considering their courses were already credited.

The lecture was longer than it needed to be as some of the teachers liked to give overly-wordy explanations, mostly Stan, who spoke slow. Many people thought the man was way too ancient to even still be alive, but they all knew there were things to be said about magic. It wasn't long enough until the lecture was concluded, the teachers gave a bow and the students in the auditorium were dismissed.

On the way back to the dormitory, Tony ran into Steve, telling Bruce to hold up a moment while he went to say hello.

"Steve! I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were too busy living in the country to make it to such a technologically advanced academy."

Steve turned around, a few friends pausing with him. "Tony," he chuckled, "and I see you've stepped down from your throne to come actually work for your grades rather than paying?" he jabbed lightly, but there was still some edge to the comment.

"Ass, I actually legitimately skipped the grades and made it here with my own two hands," Tony seemed to quip right back and Steve flashed him a challenging grin. "Bruce this is Steve, class bully, Mr. Perfect-in-every-way," Bruce seemed a little sheepish as he reached out and shook Steve's hand with a curt nod.

"How ya doin'?" Bruce greeted and seemed to slink behind him.

"You know I'm surprised you're here in your condition," Bruce seemed to glance confusedly between them.

"You mean the condition where I'm brilliant enough to be here? It's only right that I am."

"You know what I mean, Tony." Steve's voice was more of a warning now, the group around him paying no mind. Bruce managed to catch the eyes of a few of his friends, particularly a handsome blond but snuck back behind Tony as the man finished his little snipe exchange with the ex-soldier.

“Just… try not to blow up anything else,” Steve left off as he gestured to the others and they headed off, though the tall blonde man tried to give Bruce something of a smile before the black-haired man beside him chuckled.

“My brother thinks your friend is cute,” he chimed with a wave, laughing a bit as he scooted away when the tall blonde turned on him.

The black-haired man’s cackle echoed down the hall, and Tony heaved a heavy sigh watching them go. “Well, that went… not as planned.”

“Have a history, huh? He didn’t even introduce his friends.”

Tony cast the other man a look with a small smile. “Oh, were you looking for a name and room number for mister tall, blonde and muscles?”

“Did you mean Steve or the unnamed one?” Bruce inquired with as much dignity as he could muster.

“Oh, you know exactly what I meant. So you like men?”

“I… it’s not that exactly? I just…”

“No judgement here, pal. If we’re going to be roomies, though, I figure I better know how to be a good wingman for you. I swing both ways myself, so I’m hardly the one to judge. Plus, he’s cute! Go get you a piece of that,” Tony grinned as he let them back towards their room.

“What? Wait, hold up I…” Bruce shook his head, face flushed. “I uh. I’m ace? Biromantic, you know?”

“So get you some of those hugs! Those look like good, strong hugging arms. You do you,” Tony shrugged nonchalantly, then offered a warm smile. “No judgement here, I told you.”

Bruce shuffled his feet a little before giving a light sigh. “They do look like strong hugging arms, don’t they?” he hummed softly at that. “But people are still so sex-obsessed, and I’m just… that’s not for me, you know? And a lot of those macho types are kinda…”

"Hey, well you never know. You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take. I mean at the very least you could try things out, get your quota of hugs and get on your way?" Tony shrugged as they walked out of the school grounds towards the dormitory wing. It was a few winding staircases down before they reached the terrace with the apartments for the newcomers. 

Bruce was out of breath from the altitude and Tony didn't seem to be too affected.

"Just a second Tony, I need to catch my breath," Bruce put his hands on his knees as he leaned down. It was cold enough to be fall weather despite the raging blizzard the storm barrier kept out from the capital.

"I take it you're not much of a jogger then?" Tony grinned, arms crossed as he waited for Bruce.

"Me? No, not really," he responded. "Couldn't they just have portals or something? I mean, this is a magical city," Bruce's face was hilariously contorted with discomfort from the walk.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bruce, but I think they expect you to earn the right to being lazy," Tony chuckled and grabbed Bruce by the arm, pulling him over to the fifth apartment in the row. 

The front of the terrace overlooked a steep drop over the city, the entire academy having been built at the summit of the city's peak with the highest point being an old place of worship. The drop off overlooked a long bridge that seemed to disappear into a nearly impenetrable squall of snow. It wasn't known whether it was just natural that it was always storming up here or whether the phenomenon was caused by a spell, but the place was renown for its constant storm and only on a good day would the storm ease up to see the rest of the mountain vista.

Tony unlocked the door to the dorm, an older looking heavy wooden door that led into a surprisingly more modern two-room apartment. The main room was big enough to have a couch, television and sitting area while a kitchen branched off from there along with the bedrooms and shower.

Both of their things were already sitting in the middle of the main room for them to sort out and Bruce walked in, closed the door and went for the couch.

The curly-haired man pulled his glasses off before flopping onto the couch with an exaggerated sigh. “This city is going to kill me.”

“So you’re a drama queen?”

“I’m… look, I’m great at studying! I really am! I’ve been the top of every class I’ve ever attended - except physical education. I’m a brains guy, not a body guy, you know?” Bruce muttered into a pillow, watching Tony as he pulled out a fizzy drink from the fridge before sitting on a chair beside him.

“Eh, I get it. I mean, my breathing isn’t always great either - chest injuries do that to you - but I had a little practice before I came here, and I was like you doing all that. My dad had some idea of what I needed to expect, though, so he made sure that I was going to be okay regardless. I mean, it fucking sucked, but… no son of his was going to be wheezing his way around the school grounds, you know?”

“... well, you’re going to be stuck with me wheezing my way around the schoolyard,” Bruce responded as he finally rolled onto his back and took a few deep breaths. “I suppose we should properly unpack our rooms… but I don’t want to get up. And we have the Arcane and Geological History class in… what, three hours?”

“Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?” Tony responded sarcastically, though Bruce gave him an odd look at that.

“They have some of the most leading-edge knowledge on this kind of thing and on the scourge that’s been… I mean, they know things that no one else knows. We’re in a place that’s the forefront of knowledge on the state of the world… are you really not excited?”

Tony gave the other a surprised look at that, tilting his head. “You’re… pretty passionate about this, huh? I’m not a huge fan of the history aspect. I was given a refresher before I got here but… if they have something new to tell us about it, I’m all ears.”

The scourge was a subject that Tony consistently felt conflicted about. He’d lost his mother to it - a sickness that some blamed on magical deficiency and others blamed on being overcome by too much magic. It went everywhere. It was fascinating, concerning, and terrifying all at once… and moreover, it was terribly personal for him.

Bruce laughed and Tony went over to start unpacking some of his clothes. Using simple spells, he moved things into the drawers and arranged some of the furniture, pushing other things up against walls.

"So you’re not going to unpack?" Tony looked over to Bruce who was still all comfortable on the couch, leaning on his back and seemingly staring up at the ceiling as if there was nothing else to do.

"Nah, I don't have much, just some clothing. I was never really much for personal belongings."

"Got it, you're the type to go on vacation and three months later you're still pulling laundry out of your suitcase or haven't even unpacked," he flashed Bruce a grin.

"Okay, rude, I take personal offence to that," Bruce protested and turned on the couch with a mock groan. He simply lounged on the couch for the next half hour, having eventually pulled out a book to read while Tony organized his room. He walked out and looked over at Bruce with a look of disdain.

"Studying, really? In our time off?" Tony put his hands on his hips.

"Hey, I actually find this stuff interesting."

"Nerd," Tony walked over to try and swipe the book out of Bruce's hands and the man pulled it away before he could.

There was a knock at the door and the two looked between one another before Tony walked over and opened it. The tall black-haired man from earlier immediately pushed his hand up against the door, inviting himself in and his blonde companion immediately blurted out to try and stop him.

"Brother!"

"Yes, hello - you're that one that Steve doesn't seem to get along with, I guess that makes us friends," the green-eyed giant walked in as if looking for something and his brother slunk in after and waved to Bruce a bit sheepishly on the couch which had the man staring and looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Uhuhh… Can I help you?"

"Yes, beer," the man in the kitchenette said, already in the kitchen, grabbing something from the fridge and sitting down on Bruce's legs which took up most of the couch.

“H-hey! Who-what?” Bruce stuttered a bit as he scrambled out of the boisterous man’s way and flashed Tony a look of confusion and uncertainty.

“Ah, how rude of me! Of course, I should introduce myself!” The man on the couch hummed, putting his feet up and grinning at the duo. “Loki Odinson. This is my brother, Thor.”

“Odinson…?” Tony was sure he’d heard the name before, but when he looked to Bruce it was clear the other had a better idea of what was going on than he did.

“You mean… as in Professor Odin Borson’s-”

“Yeah, that would be the one,” Loki yawned a bit, before taking a sip of his pillaged beer and glancing at Thor. “Sit down, will you? You’re going to make someone nervous.”

“Loki, you can’t just walk into a stranger’s house and just help yourself to things!”

“No one stopped me,” the raven-haired man smiled cheekily, and Tony couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he finally closed the door.

“Not like we were doing anything else anyway. I assume that means you two have an idea of how to get around this place?”

“I could get around this place completely drunk and blindfolded,” Loki boasted, and Thor finally sunk himself into a chair, giving the pair an apologetic smile.

“Please, excuse my brother, manners aren’t his strong suit,” the blonde explained, and Tony took up a chair of his own to examine the rather dissimilar brothers carefully. They didn’t look similar at all beyond both of them being absolute giants, easily dwarfing him and Bruce.

It took him a moment to realize he was being scrutinized in return and he offered the shorter, somewhat more slender of the brothers a winning smile. “Memorizing something?”

“Mmm, recollecting something, rather. Tony Stark, isn’t it? Son of Howard and Maria Stark… there were a lot of rumours that after your mother passed your father wouldn’t let you out of his sight. Many people expected you’d never make it to this school, yet here you are…”

“Thanks for that unnerving appraisal,” Tony shifted in his spot. “I suppose that means neither of you is new here?”

“No, certainly not, though with Thor’s rate of progress he might be here forever,” Loki sipped smugly at his beer, and Thor frowned at that, but didn’t manage to get a word in before Loki spoke again. “I’m an advanced transmogrification specialist. I would’ve loved to add a second specialty, but they don’t let you summon dragons anymore, so what’s the point of even summoning anymore anyway?”

“No one would trust you with a dragon anyway, Loki,” Thor rolled his eyes and huffed rather indignantly.

“Thor here,” Loki ignored his brother, “is a summoner. So far his most impressive summon has been a little canary. Delightful thing, really. Kept him up all night once.”

“I summoned a dog,” Thor corrected the other, focusing on Bruce as he spoke. “My brother transmogrified him into a bird. It’s a very different thing.”

“You haven’t been able to correct it,” Loki sipped at his beer again, offering a playful grin.

"I still don't get why you're here, in our apartment, drinking our -  _ my _ booze, since bad-boy over here doesn't drink."

"Congratulations, you have a drinking partner." Loki took a swig from the bottle. "Also, this doofus over here needs a tutor, he'll pay." 

Bruce pulled his feet out from underneath Loki with enough strength and sat forward. "Oh well - I don't know if I-"

"Also, he likes you, I saw him making goo-goo eyes at you earlier," Loki pointed the beer at Bruce. "This works for everyone!" Tony frowned and Bruce's mouth hung open as if he didn't know how to respond to it.

" **Loki** !" Thor sat forward and seemed to turn a little red, stunned at his sibling's forwardness.

"Well, I don't know I-" Bruce started, way too shy to properly formulate his words.

"- And, another thing," Loki flashed Bruce a look to get him to can it again. "Rich fathers, yadda-yadda, I can show you around the school and you obviously need a drinking buddy since this poor little summer child won't - I'd say this arrangement is a win-win!"

"As long as you're not here to suck up to me, I have that effect on people," Tony added, hoping he could at least try to annoy Loki with his ego. The raven-haired man leaned forward on his knees.

"No, I won't suck up to you Stark, but I'll suck your dick if you ask nicely." Bruce immediately started coughing, not sure how to respond to that, clearly a little uncomfortable as he shrunk into the corner of the couch.

"Brother!" Thor leaned forward.

"Huh, fine, forward enough. Hopefully, I can trust you to be honest enough too, I've had my share of people smiling and nodding. Tired of lies, drama - that whole song and dance."

"Oh Stark dear, I wouldn't dream of lying to you I'd-"

"Don't say it, brother," Thor huffed shaking his head.

"I get it. So I might have some classes with you, it looks like our majors overlap." Tony looked at the print out of his course calendar.

“We have classes with Professor Selvig later, and…” Tony squinted at the sheet, "tomorrow I have a class with Selvig as well, Bruce you have that too right?"

"-Huh? What?" Bruce seemed to be twiddling his thumbs looking between Tony and Thor who gave him a little wave. "Oh, yeah with Selvig." 

Bruce looked pretty on spot, not sure what to say in the presence of the other blond jock-looking fellow. He was clearly in some discomfort with the other two men.

"We all have an orientation with Fury until we pick a specialization, history, ugh," Tony's eyes almost rolled back in his head, like he wasn't already aware of the history behind this place.

"Hey, I actually enjoy that stuff," Bruce piped up.

"Yeah, that makes one of us."

“Well, I wouldn’t suggest missing it. Fury can be uh… well, we’ll say his name is apt, shall we?” Loki hummed cheerfully. “He’s a killer of fun, a ruiner of games, and an absolute sourpuss. But I hear he’s a great teacher, and he never bothered to fix Thor’s canary, so… I suppose he’s not all bad.”

“He seems to think I ought to be able to help my summon revert to his natural form on my own,” Thor sighed and ran a hand into his hair. “But… I don’t know how. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, or what I’m missing.”

“I… can think of a few things that might be the problem,” Bruce offered, and Thor gave him a small smile.

“My brother wasn’t lying. I’m happy to pay for your tutelage?”

“And take you out to dinner,” Loki offered.

“And take you out to…” Thor paused, looking at his brother for a moment, before giving Bruce a warm smile. “And take you out to dinner, if you’ll let me.”

“Gosh, I love being such an excellent wingman,” the raven-haired man smiled widely, casting Tony a small wink. “Shall we get you two to your history lesson? Those two can make plans along the way?”

Thor flashed Loki a look, his brother had taken the words right out of his mouth.

"Buddy, you don't know a thing about me," Bruce seemingly attempting to jeopardize the relationship before it had even started.

"No, but perhaps you can do me the honours and give me a chance to?" Thor flashed an innocent smiled.

"Raincheck on the answer, I'm kind of not the type of guy you'd be expecting, I'm also pretty married to my work and studies."

"I think I should be the judge of that. Shall we?" Thor nodded his head towards the door and he stood up, opening it and Loki followed just as quickly behind him.

Tony kept his eye on Bruce, should the man need to ask for a moment he was watching for the cues, but things looked to be fine as Bruce nervously gathered up his belongings, tucked them into his bag and nodded to Tony who took the lead and followed behind the two brothers towards their first lecture.

Unsurprisingly since the lecture included all the students from the first year, it was in the same lecture hall as before, and Steve had to flash Loki an odd look as he saw the two brothers with Tony and Bruce.

“If you two are already into your specialties… you don’t need to be in this class, do you?” Bruce inquired restlessly, though he glanced between Tony and Thor briefly.

“Thor could use the refresher,” Loki hummed cheerily, “and I’m enjoying the not-so-subtle looks Rogers keeps throwing us. It gives me this… joyful tingle.”

“I don’t think we need to hear about any joyful tingles of yours, Loki,” Thor sighed, and Tony cast the dark-haired man an amused look.

“You two really don’t get along? You seemed happy to spend time with them before.”

“Nah, they just put up with me because they like Thor. I don’t think they like that I disagree with them at every turn. But it’s so fun,” Loki smiled cheekily, before putting his finger to his lips as the lights started to go down.

A balding, elderly white man made his way onto the stage at the front of the class, organizing his notes and clearing his throat.

“Good afternoon, class. I am Doctor Erik Selvig, and I’m here to discuss the Sanctums, the Sacred Temples, and how leylines are affecting our current climate disaster,” he began, his voice carrying well across the lecture hall and Tony could only assume some sort of spell was amplifying his voice.

“Before anyone asks, because these questions are common, no Dalaar is not a Sanctum or a Sacred Temple, and yes, Sanctums are also Sacred Temples. So the question becomes: what is a Sacred Temple? And what’s the difference between a Sacred Temple and a Sanctum? These answers are both related to leylines.

“Leylines, or lines of power, are essentially the world’s arteries - they are full of magic, and they cross the planet in a distinct way. There are points around the planet where these lines converge, atop which our ancient ancestors built Sacred Temples - places of immense, concentrated power. Of course, we only know of the locations of three of these temples now - we call them Sanctums. They continue to be used to monitor the state of magic globally, and are points of important research.

“Naturally we know the location of a fourth Sacred Temple - the Temple of Gaia - however… as no one has been able to step foot in it for one hundred years, it’s still at this point considered lost. This is similarly the case for the lost Temple of Atlantis - the location remains unknown to this day due to it being sunk below the sea. The Temple of Watoomb is similarly lost beneath the waves, though there are many scholars who believe that the Temple of Watoomb was originally built beneath the waves, and thus it’s loss is more a loss of knowledge than a misplacement of the temple itself.”

Lights lit up in the air above the students as a globe was summoned into existence and the illusion showed the four locations of the landlocked Temples - though as he watched it he saw the way the earth seemed to discolour at a certain point. He knew what was coming next and he could feel the tension in his stomach and throat at the thought of it.

“So of course, this brings us to what happens when leylines become destabilized, as they have in the last century, and brings us to discussing the climate effects and the scourge,” Tony’s hand gripped the arm of the chair tightly.

Many people had been affected by the scourage but the visual displays that flitted into the air hit too close to home for Tony, whose mother had passed only months earlier to this very pandemic. The doctors said her soul rotted away, and that her body was slow to catch up on the process. He remembered the awful smell in the room she was in, the way her eyes, teeth, hair and nails had blackened, and how her tears had seemed like tar creeping over her face. The smell was horrid, and her hands felt wrong when he held them - too soft, papery and weak, and the way the blackness had slowly spread from her fingernails across her hands and slowly up her arms.

A shudder ran through him and a hand rested on his gently, drawing his attention to where Bruce sat, giving him a reassuring smile, with a vaguely haunted look of his own. Bruce squeezed his hand gently and Tony took a deep breath to return to trying to pay attention to the man’s words.

“-based on all of our research, it seems that the destabilization stems from the Temple of Gaia. Many people in ancient times believed that the Temple of Gaia housed the root of all reality, and working from this knowledge in modern times has at least shown us that the Temple of Gaia - and the Shattered Forest - are deeply entwined with the root of magic across the globe.”

Tony and Bruce seemed to flash each other a few knowing looks and that quick glance hadn't gone unnoticed by Thor.

"So," the floating etherial globe rotated and honed in on a section of the map, zooming into the most up-to-date depiction of the Shattered Forest they had. 

"As we know it, the Shattered Forest was never called by simply that name alone," the professor paced around. "It was known to most of us as Centralia nearly a century ago where it housed the highest concentration of arcane energy on the planet."

The map seemed to go a deep translucent blue and within it, vein-like glowing white lines seemed to expand out from arteries at the point.

"Centralia was rightfully named for being the center of all arcane energy on the entire planet. It's power stemmed directly from the planet's core, but an unknown phenomenon caused that font of arcane energy to become unstable, resulting in a global meltdown where the very artery of pure arcane essence ruptured," Selvig turned to the auditorium of students overlooking. The diagram of the leylines shifted to show a multitude of distributed points like lightning streaks.

"The arcane font erupted, causing wide-scale extinction, altering and terraforming the very ground around it. In a one-hundred-mile radius around the epicentre, the trees turned to an almost crystal, charged with pure and concentrated arcane energy and all life in the surrounding area was wiped from existence, the shells of animals suspended in arcane residue like shadows. 

"Outside of that radius the energy travelled and continued to affect life around it in a fallout. Anything within a two-hundred-mile radius of the redistribution felt the natural phenomenon of intense arcane storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons and even up to five-hundred miles away we believed sickness spread called 'arcane destabilization', or as most of us would call it, 'the scourge'.

"The fall-out from this phenomenon or meltdown of Centralia resulted in the restabilizing and repolarization of the planet's main arcane font, which split into multiple different veins. What we know as the Sanctums and Temples of the world today - those we can access - are where we have wards now in place to help prevent such a disaster from happening again, regulations and barriers to keep the fonts in check.

"Currently, we are only aware of a handful of these arcane fonts, but as our research and technology advances, we are discovering more." 

One of the students raised their hands and Selvig pointed out to them. "Yes, you in the red."

"Hi, Scott Lang here, hey - why don't people just go into the forest and research it, you mentioned it's this place people haven't been to in forever?"

"Thank you, Scott and a good question. You see we haven't been able to further research this phenomenon due to how dangerous the residual arcane energy is surrounding the Shattered Forest is. We've seen the highest outbreak of the scourge in the closest towns to the epicentre, the ground is teeming with wild magic and those who've set foot in to try and explore - geologists, kids, any brave or even stupid souls who venture forth suffer the same deteriorating effects as those who suffer from the scourge. The residual magic is so unstable that it tampers with the body, mutates and deforms it in ways our bodies cannot handle. It results in a slow death where the body and mind wear away slowly, or in some cases, quickly depending on how much you've been exposed to.

"There are no wards, no spells that can be cast that will keep a human safe, so to this day it remains one of the world's greatest mysteries and unexplored regions of the globe."

A few more questions went around, but as the class ended and some students headed to the front to ask their further questions, Bruce tilted his head to Tony in a suggestion that they head out, and the brunette gave a sharp nod, getting to his feet and straightening himself out to make his way towards the exit. The brothers stopped at the door and Thor offered the two of them a short goodbye, but Loki simply offered a card.

“Seriously, I hope we see you two around. Happy to show you around the place and get you all settled and such. The next orientation is about an hour off, just over there if you want to go get a good seat in advance. Fury puts on a good display of things, and getting to see his summons is pretty impressive,” the man advised with a surprisingly friendly smile.

“Yeah, maybe we’ll do that. Thanks…” Tony responded as he tucked the card away and watched the pair head off - presumably to their own classes or something of the like. It was hard to say.

“I know you’re not interested in summoning, but we can still get a good seat, right?” Bruce offered as he started to head in the direction of the hall Loki had pointed out, looking thoughtful.

“Well, you said it’s something you were interested in. It’s only fair that we get a good view for your sake,” Tony acquiesced.

They found a spot only four rows back - Tony insisted he wasn’t sitting in the first two rows in case there was some demonstration that required a volunteer - but it was comfortable and the hall was still mostly empty. His head kept taking him back to thoughts of the scourge and his mother, leaving him fidgeting and tapping his foot anxiously before Bruce’s hand touched his wrist again.

“... wanna talk about it?”

“What? Talk about what?” Tony inquired, glancing at Bruce in question.

“Loki kind of touched on it and with your reaction at the event I… not to pry, but it seems to have bothered you pretty bad. I, uh… I also lost my mom to the scourge,” Bruce admitted softly, leaning back in his seat. “I mean, it only seems fair to share that with you, since I kinda was… made aware.”

“You, too, huh? Despite what that guy seems to think, my dad was all too happy to have me out of the house. I think I kept reminding him of mom. It was pretty recent. Luckily, the feeling was mutual so… you know,” Tony sighed softly, then gave a little shrug. “But I’m here now. It doesn’t make much of a difference. I can’t bring her back. Nothing will change that she’s gone.”

“I get it. I just… you know, if you want to talk, I want you to know I’m here and I’m happy to talk about it if you need to. I mean,” Bruce winced, “not happy exactly, but… I’m willing. We can talk if you need it.”

“Thanks for that. And right back at you, okay? You’re my roomie now. I’ve got your back.”

The two of them sat in silence as they waited in between lectures, Bruce organized his notes while Tony kicked his feet back on the desk. A few of his peers started to stream in, Lang and his girlfriend giving both of them a wave and soon enough Fury was in the auditorium already setting up his notes and going through his spell sheets accompanied by one of his familiars, the hawk resting on his shoulder.

"Stark." The name came out sharply as Fury remarked him in the fourth row, setting his notes down to walk up to the fourth terrace of the auditorium.

"I was wondering when I'd have you in my class," Fury seemed a little keen as he leaned against the desk of the auditorium.

"Here to take a jab at me old man? I'm surprised the rumours have made it as far as faculty." Bruce tried to ignore the fact that Tony seemed to now be picking fights with faculty as if his money and wealth made gave him some sort of immunity.

"On the contrary, I saw your entrance exam results and I'm quite impressed, it's been a long time since we've had talent like yours at the school and I wanted to personally congratulate you." The tone was stern but earnest.

"Well I don't think you'll have me in any of your classes, Mr. Fury, I don't plan on majoring in zoo-keeping," Tony grinned and the professor returned an evenly challenging expression.

"No, what we do here is more than just rounding up house pets, maybe you'll muster the courage to step into the lion's den one of these days, but regardless, I'm interested to see what you're capable of, I expect great things from you Stark." 

Bruce was about to hide in his notes to avoid getting dragged in. "You too, Banner, second-highest scores. Surprised you're sitting all the way back there, I promise I don't bite."

"N-no thank you, sir, I'm good here," Bruce couldn't really come up with any other excuses to justify why he wasn't moving up and Tony still had his feet on the lecture hall desk, with Fury flashing him a final glance before turning back to his notes.

As the last few students filtered in the doors closed with a resounding boom, and Fury took no time at all to start speaking. “Conjuration, best known for the specialization of summoning,” he started with no preamble in the slightest, “is the study of summoning aetheric companions. Most people have specific assumptions about what we, as summoners, do.”

One eye glanced briefly at Tony as the professor smirked a little, “some would call us zookeepers, with the assumption that the creatures we summon are at all like the animals you might keep as pets or find in the wild,” his gaze moved on from Tony as he stepped onto the stage at the front of the class, “but summons are an entirely different and more complex set of entities than that.

“Summons are capable of sharing your magical energy and aiding you in creating dramatically more powerful spells - or smaller spells with less strain on your body. The more advanced your summons are, the greater the power you wield… but every summon brings something different to the table.”

A few short gestures and the room was lit with a bright orange glow. While the hawk remained on Fury’s one shoulder, another bird nearly the size of the man who had summoned it sat glowing on a perch that had been prepared to the other side. Its features were sharp and angular and it seemed to glow with energy as it observed the masses.

Tony sat up a little, giving the creature a curious look as Bruce tilted his head. “That’s a thunderbird…”

“Thunderbirds,” Fury continued, drowning out Bruce’s comment as he explained, “are from the elemental plane and are one of many such unique creatures one can summon, depending on the strength and capability of their summoners. This is Maria,” he introduced, and the bird dipped her head gracefully in greeting, “she’s a common visitor to my classes, so for those of you who join my classes you’ll become quite familiar with her.”

The thunderbird flapped her wings a few times, taking her perch as Fury continued his lecture.

"While yes, it does take power, knowledge, cunning to summon powerful beasts, it also takes just as much imagination and creativity. If you can imagine it, you can summon it - however, there are rules to this." Fury took on a power stance at the front of the classroom and stopped pacing, looking to all the students, even those sitting far in the back rows.

"There are beasts that are off-limits, entities too powerful, unstable or wild to control. Those such beasts, sphinxes, manticores, hydras, and I could go on are highly unstable and nearly impossible to control, especially for students. Even more so are dragons, which I cannot stress enough being off-limits."

Some of the students were distracted by Maria but Fury raised his voice again to grab everyone's attention.

"If I catch anyone in my class - in this school - summoning chimeras, or dragons it may be grounds for expulsion. Am I clear?" There wasn't a response from any of the students.

"I said,  **am I clear?** " There was a tentative agreement from the majority of the students and that was enough for the professor.

"Good. Now, if you plan to branch out into summoning as a major, all students will begin by calling upon familiars within their range. Students will be engaged one-on-one to measure their capabilities and we will work with you to hone your abilities and help with your strengths and your weaknesses."

Tony couldn't help but roll his eyes, this was all basics, child's play to him, but at least Bruce seemed to be interested enough to wind up taking an excessive amount of notes.

The thunderbird herself seemed interested in the students plenty, but Tony could swear the moment she looked at him his soul felt like it was vibrating. She quirked her head and a couple of feathery tufts shifted in their spot before she began crooning softly at him. The moment her gaze moved away from him the vibration subsided and Tony glanced at Bruce to see if he’d had any kind of reaction to find the man scribbling away still.

Tony rubbed at his chest a bit where the vibration seemed to linger faintly. “Did… you feel that?”

“Feel what?”

“The… that weird electricity?”

“The static? She’s a thunderbird, it makes sense…”

“Did you have something to share with the class, Mister Stark?” Fury called the pair to attention, and Tony looked up with a little surprise to see the man watching him with amusement.

“You have a very pretty bird, sir,” Tony chimed with a grin.

“Maria, why don’t you go say hello to Mister Stark,” the professor turned to the bird in question. “He seems lonely. Like he needs someone to talk to.”

The bird chirruped happily and soared over to his seat, perching on the back of the chair and fluffing up her feathers. She expanded to almost twice her size as she fluffed up happily, causing Tony's hair to go all static and his chest to feel even warmer with intense vibration.

Tony seemed to look oddly out of place as the bird sat behind him, other members of the auditorium chuckling and chortling as Fury seemed to go right back to his lecture, going in-depth more about the different tiers of the summons and the theory that went into it.

"You doing okay over there Tony?" Bruce whispered quietly, not looking at Tony but keeping his eyes glued on Fury who seemed to be paying much more attention to the two boys than the lesson or even the class.

Maria churred softly, preening her feathers and Tony could feel the odd vibrational palpitations from the arcane energy in his chest. He didn't mind being singled out but the feeling was so strange he wished the class was just over at this point.

“You seem nervous,” the female voice startled him, and his head whipped around a bit before realizing the bird was staring at him.

“Excuse me?”

“That thing in your chest… the electricity you’re feeling is that. The raw arcane energy of the Elemental Realm. You feel it in your chest as electricity because it echoes with my elemental alignment,” the bird explained.

It took Tony a good long moment to get over the fact that the summoned bird was talking. And another half a minute to come to terms with the fact that it was talking to  _ him _ . “Uh… I’m not sure what you’re-”

“I can feel it. Many summons will not, but that thing in your chest is uniquely qualified to make you a particularly powerful summoner, Stark,” she chirped at him, before stretching her wings a bit as Fury seemed to fall quiet. “Stay after. Speak with Nick.”

"Tony, are you talking to the bird?"

"What, you don't hear that?" Tony furrowed his brows.

"No, quiet down or you're going to get in trouble again," Bruce was as quiet as he could be, receiving another look from Fury once more.

Tony sat quietly for the rest of the lecture, Fury's attention was no longer glued to him either and he managed to ignore the buzzing in his chest long enough to concentrate on some parts of the lesson.

Most of the stuff Fury was lecturing about Tony was aware of, though there were other nuances to summoning and the generalized field of Conjuration that he was hearing about for the first time. Once Fury's introduction to summoning seminar had completed the students began to pack up and Tony considered Maria's words once again.

Tony nudged Bruce with his elbow. "Hey, I need to talk to the prof, I'll meet you back at the apartment shortly." Bruce gave Tony a look as he was packing up his books.

"Hey, I can wait, not in any rush," Bruce skeptically eyed Steve and Bucky as they walked out of the lecture all and eventually it was just the two of them.

Maria flew back up to her perch at the front and Fury put his notes away. Tony and Bruce came down the steps to stand in front of the podium, Bruce hanging back as he gave Tony some space.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Fury turned to give Tony his full attention, with an oddly accusatory and unimpressed look.

"Well, your bird talks to me, that's weird or am I already going to be considered the crazy one in the class? She told me to talk to you after class, not sure if this is some plan of yours but I still don't have my heart set on majoring in Summoning."

“I don’t think that’s why she spoke to you,” Fury chuckled a bit, glancing to Bruce briefly before leaning back against the short table. “Summons will speak to whomever they choose and speak to them directly. She chose to speak to you, congratulations, but she did so for a reason.” His hand gestured to Tony’s chest, though he didn’t touch him.

“... yeah, she mentioned something about it making my potential as a summoner unique.”

“It makes your potential in any field of magic you choose unique. Be cautious of what you do, because that thing in your chest is liable to amplify whatever magic you do choose to dedicate yourself to. You clearly understand the theory well, we’ve seen it in written tests, but be cautious how you apply that knowledge to practical usage. That’s all,” Fury dismissed him just like that, and the thunderbird ducked her head in what looked like a small bow.

Tony’s fingers couldn’t help but settle on his chest as he and Bruce made their way back to the dorm, fidgeting restlessly with the reactor under his shirt. Bruce cast him a couple of looks, but blessedly didn’t say a thing the whole walk back.

Tony tossed his bag down next to the couch as they walked back into their apartment, going for the fridge and grabbing a glass and ice to pour himself some whiskey in hopes to decompress.

"Well that was something, I hope this doesn't turn into some tug-of-war between faculty to have the 'prized' child in their class," Tony took a big sip from the glass and shook the ice around. "Put any thought into tutoring yet?"

"Well aren't you the humble one," Bruce sat down on the couch, pulling his notes down and going over them, he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm still thinking about it, I dunno man..."

"You could use the money, plus it gives you an excuse to get out and meet people," the engineer chuckled taking another swig and Bruce flashed him another look.

"So, any consideration into what Fury said?"

"I don't plan to change majors, I could summon circles around the kids in that class, it's not like I'd really be learning much.”

"Oh, there's always an opportunity to learn Tony," Bruce shook his head.

"We'll see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some references of our main couple, designed by Bravehardt 🥰
> 
> [A pair of cuties!](https://twitter.com/Kraionis/status/1149771885242126336)  
[And a certain big, feathery boy!](https://twitter.com/Kraionis/status/1150064936585965568)
> 
>   
Header art is done by the amazing Quere! You can find them over on Twitter:
> 
> [Quere!](https://twitter.com/quere_vvv)
> 
> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the slight delay! Time changes and outside circumstances made this one a little later than usual. But chapter two has arrived!

“It’s easy to spot a Summoner,” Loki sighed exaggeratedly as he showed them around the campus the following day.

Things were quiet. It was exceptionally early, the sun had barely risen and classes didn’t start for another hour and a half, so the timing was perfect for a tour. Besides, it was too early for Loki to steal his beer - a small win as far as Tony was concerned.

“They’re usually the ones with their chests puffed out like they’re the hottest thing around. Those two-” Loki pointed to a pair of oddly dressed men, “those are definitely diviners. Diviners tend to wear rather extravagantly unusual clothing.”

“This just sounds like we’re stereotyping specialists,” Tony remarked as he watched Loki point out some of the different cliques.

“We absolutely are. You’ll learn to tell the difference more effectively eventually, but knowing who to talk to for a better idea of what you want to do is important. Ah! Over there? Definitely enchanters.”

“Are you saying that because they’re hot?”

“They’re definitely using an area of effect enchantment charm to make you think that - so yes. Also as a transmutation and illusion specialist, I can see through a lot of those kinds of spells to begin with, so they’re less effective on me.”

“How do you tell if someone’s an illusion specialist?”

Loki glanced at Tony briefly at that, giving a smirk and a small wink. “If they’re any good, you don’t.”

“And transmutation?”

“Transmutation is a whole different thing,” Loki hummed. “Most students who are transmuters have mistakes in their transmutations. But that requires you to know what the object they’re attempting to transmute into looked like to begin with, and not all transmuters have that issue. So once again, if they’re good enough, you don’t. Keep an eye out for students who seem to take a great interest in the objects around them, though, if you’re looking for someone who studies transmutation. As students we often enjoy trying to find new things to practice on, so we’re always on the lookout for neat things to change into or to change other things into.

“Abjurors tend to stick to a certain area and spend a lot of time with evokers. Shields and swords so to speak. But you said you wanted to learn enchantment, correct? Technomancy quite specifically? You’ll need to start off with general enchantment for that.”

"Telemancy is something that everyone ends up learning sooner or later, it's basically baked into curriculum, geologists, cartographers and scribes? It all falls under the same sphere of learning, though having the ability to properly teleport is a must for every skilled magus," Tony sighed.

"True, but there are always nuances to these things, you of all people should know that," Loki pulled up his scarf as a particularly strong breeze brushed by them, ruffling their coats as they descended the academy steps.

"And I do, as well as most of the nuances that accompany specializing. At least with technomancy, I can innovate, not everyone knows how to engineer and that's why the field is so specialized. Building things, hands-on."

"You do know you can double-major, Stark," Loki turned around and raised an eyebrow. "And not to stroke your cock or anything but a man with your grades, money and prestige would have no problem getting a proposal approved from the academy to let you do that, in fact, I think they would be honoured, it seems like you've already got Fury in your pocket." 

Tony rolled his eyes. "What? This is the one-time I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm serious when I say you should double-major, I'm sure you could easily handle the course load."

"Of course I do, but why would I waste my time?" Loki rolled his eyes with the comment.

"Seriously Stark, unless you plan to use all your free time to 'catch tail' I'd suggest you do something constructive with your time. You didn't come to the academy to show everyone you know everything already, might as well make it worth your energy."

"Surprisingly insightful from you, Loki," Tony grinned challengingly.

"Yes, well being the son of a professor tends to bake some morals into you as much as I hate it. And I’m the son of two," Loki shook his head.

Both of them stopped as they ran into Steve who immediately approached when they'd locked eyes. "You two are up bright and early," the blond commented, unexpectedly more friendly without his entourage.

“Chest puffed,” Loki stated to Tony rather pointedly, before turning his attentions on Steve. “I’m always up early. Besides, someone needed to show him around.”

“I would’ve shown you around if you needed, Tony…” Steve’s voice was oddly quiet at that, watching Tony rather specifically despite that Loki had addressed him.

“Chest definitely puffed,” Tony responded with a sigh. “Anyway, I figured you wouldn’t want to be around me since you seem to think I’m some kind of hazard.”

“I’m just worried about you, Tony. After what happened… honestly, I just don’t want to see things get worse.”

“That sure isn’t how it sounded,” Tony frowned.

“It definitely sounded more like assholery than concern,” Loki chimed, and Tony gestured to him rather pointedly.

“It did, didn’t it?”

“Come on, we’ve been friends for years, why are you acting like this?” Steve frowned. “Am I not allowed to be worried?”

“Worried, yes. A dick? Hell no. I get enough of that from my dad, I don’t need it from you.”

“Steve!” A voice piped up, and soon enough two others joined the man, looking at the duo Steve had been talking to impassively. “Ah, I see,” the longer-haired man hummed. “Loki, good morning. Stark… fancy seeing you around still.”

“It’s orientation, give it time,” the other man responded with a roll of his eyes.

“Bucky. Sam. Good morning. See, I always thought people were only supposed to have one asshole, and Steve here has three. Quite the anomaly,” Loki hummed.

"Look, Steve, I'm old enough to cross the street without supervision, I know how to look both ways. Worry about yourself and when you're done trying to masquerade your concern behind the bulwark of your friends, then we can talk," Tony rolled his eyes, a wave to other guys as Loki tugged him off towards the learning commons, they still had some time to burn.

"So, think your buddy Bruce is interested in that dolt-of-a-brother of mine?" Loki purred, reaching ahead to open the doors for Tony as they walked into the massive library. "I know my brother can be quite amenable when he needs to, he can put on a real show for that buddy of yours.”

"Not to really bust his balls or anything, but Bruce is ace, and that's his biggest concern," Tony came out with it, taking a seat at a set of free couches. Loki followed after. 

"And, what's your point?"

"Well, I think your brother came on a bit strong. Bruce spooks easily."

"Ah, so direct eye contact is enough to frighten the kitten."

"You know what I mean," Tony chuckled.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"But he's given tutoring some consideration, the guy's just as brilliant as me and I'm all for supporting him if it gets him to stop being such a bookworm," Tony crossed his legs on the couch, watching as a few students milled about in the spanning library. "Which… now that I think of it, _ it doesn't make as much sense out loud _ ."

"Great, I'll tell Thor!"

"That's not what I meant..." Tony let out a sigh.

"Come on, you have to admit this would be good for both of them."

"You're not wrong there."

“Well, speaking of being a bookworm, your technomancy books are up on the third floor to the left of the staircase. You’ll find a big sign for it. And hear the inevitable whirring of gadgets.”

“Tony!” the man they’d been discussing shortly before waved to him from his seat, buried behind two stacks of books. “Have you ever seen such a vast library of magical knowledge? Isn’t it amazing?”

“Is our dorm going to wind up full of books? Is that what I should be expecting?” Tony inquired with amusement as he and Loki made their way to the curly-haired man.

“Most definitely. I can’t help it. Look at all of this! There are special editions of books that are already impossibly rare - some copies are signed and autographed and only on display, requiring permission to read them! This is practically a paradise!”

“If you’re conflating ‘school’ with ‘paradise’ we need to work on your definition of paradise, Brucey. Have you had breakfast already?”

“What? Oh! Yes. Uh, Thor brought me some? He was kind enough to help me find the library, too. I don’t know where he is now, though.”

“Thor is afraid of books. They make him nervous. He probably fled,” Loki chuckled a bit to himself.

“At least he isn’t loitering around. Are you alright? We don’t need to talk to him about personal space, do we?”

“He’s been pretty good, to be honest. I mean, I wasn’t expecting to see him at the front door, but… he literally delivered food. There’s only so much I can say about that, and nothing bad.”

"Puffed up chest?" Loki added softly

"Puffed up chest, this one’s even got his tail-feathers fanned out too!" Tony admitted with a soft chortle.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Bruce looked between the two men and Tony shook his head.

"Nothing, don't worry about it, sweetheart.”

"You know when you say stuff like that I can't help but worry."

"As I told you before, Stark," Loki quirked a brow and Tony could only roll his eyes at that.

"Hey, by the way, I found this book. Might be interesting to you," Bruce handed Tony a book about summoning basics and seemed to nervously look away.

"Really, Bruce? Did Fury tell you to give me this?"

"Well, maybe I ran into him in the hall..."

"Ugh," Tony rolled his eyes and put the book down. "I'm barring you from handing me things, from now on people are not allowed to hand me things without Loki here to take them first. Let the world know I officially hate being handed things!"

"So theoretically, if I stuck my-"

"No, Loki."

"It was just a thought," Loki rolled his eyes.

"With you, it's not  _ just a thought. _ "

Tony sat back into the chair, struggling to shake what Fury and Maria had said to him the other day. He could easily summon whatever he wished, but he chose to avoid going down that path.

He recalled summoning beasts, birds alike but the energy it took to maintain them, and the empathetic connection he needed to expend was the reason he simply had no interest in the subject. Plus, given his family history, and his natural gifts in the engineering field, it all just made sense to him that way.

Still, he couldn't shake the idea of double-majoring. Damn Loki.

“This is pretty fundamental stuff,” Loki mused as he flipped through the summoning book. “A lot of this is stuff that Thor is still struggling with. Maybe he gave it to you hoping you’d help the poor thing,” he grinned at Bruce, snapping the book closed and glancing at Tony. “In any case, if you wanted a  _ real _ challenge… there’s a much more advanced book of summoning in Fury’s office…” he hummed with a mischievous little smirk.

“It would certainly prove a point to Steve and his asshole brigade that you deserve to be here…”

“Tony, no-”

“But think about it! Imagine pulling off and memorizing some of those spells! Managing to skip ahead and get into your specialty without having all this fussing and doubt about your capabilities.”

“Loki, that’s more likely to get him suspended than anything. Tony, please, just ignore them. And him.”

Tony considered the idea. "What book is so special it's not right here in the learning commons?" he inquired as he flipped through the book Loki had just as soon discarded. "He's right, the stuff in here is trivial at best, a real challenge would be nice for once."

"Tony seriously, suspension and possible expulsion, it's obviously forbidden magic if they don't have it readily available for students, or at least too advanced. It's gotta be really volatile, you really don't want to be dabbling in that stuff. Is it really worth the risk?"

"Where is this so-called book, Loki?"

"Tony-"

"In his office, he keeps it stashed away with a bunch of other books. Luckily your boy Loki here is quite talented in polymorphic magics. I could be in and out of there before Fury had any idea I was there."

"And?"

"And, what?"

"There's gotta be a catch to all of this," Tony frowned.

"Seriously Tony I-" Bruce was once again cut off.

"Oh, nothing much, just that you see your old pal Loki here as one of the most reliable friends you have..."

"And?"

"... and access to your alcohol."

"That’s what I thought, done deal." Bruce looked between them, bewildered at the both of them.

“I’ll bring it by your room after your orientation sessions. You’ve got your intro courses for Enchanting, Abjuration and Evocation today. Tomorrow should be Divination, Illusions, and Transmutation if everything remains as it is…”

“Telemancy?”

“Your first full-day course will be Telemancy, on Friday, oh eager one.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll see you after classes then?” Tony grinned, and Bruce sighed in exasperation.

“Please tell me someone here knows counter-spells at least…?”

“You sound like you don’t believe in him,” Loki gave Bruce a crooked smile, before shrugging a little and waving. “I’ll see you after class, darlings! Have fun! I know someone’s very eager for his Enchantment classes!”

“Coming, Bruce?” Tony paused to wait for his friend as the man collected up his books into a small bag that Tony expected had been enchanted to carry more than it appeared, before nodding.

“Are you really sure about doing this thing with Loki? You don’t know him very well… what if there’s more to it? What if he’s after something?”

“I get the impression that if he wanted something he’d get it for himself, not make someone else do it,” Tony shrugged lightly.

“Seriously, though, if you get expelled for this you’re not going to be proving a point to anyone. You’ll end up proving them right…”

"I'm not going to get expelled for this because I'm not going to get caught unless one of you plans on reporting me here..." Tony flashed an accusatory glance to either one of the men and Bruce shook his head.

"Tony, seriously man this is a huge risk."

" **Ugh** , fine, I won't do it - happy?"

" **Yes** , I am - well no, I'm not, because you even considered doing it," Bruce calmed some, the look of panic in his eyes had faded some as Tony let out a sigh.

They all went to their classes and Tony was left unsurprisingly unimpressed at the lack of new content in the courses. He wasn't simply just boasting when he said he was more than familiar with everything the academy was trying to teach and it was as if the workload he'd been given was more of a trivial formality - busy work.

Tony slept through the first class, paid half attention to the abjuration class and skipped out halfway through the final. He was back in the apartment with a beer when Bruce and Loki walked in, Thor at their heels as they'd caught the blonde walking back and Loki had invited him to join.

"Let me guess, classes weren't all that fulfilling?" Loki grinned as they filed into the room and he could read the engineer like an open book.

"Eh..." Tony shrugged half-heartedly.

"Well, have no fear, Loki is here and he's brought a gift."

"Loki, no..." Bruce looked at him and Thor seemed confused.

"Loki, yes!" The raven-haired man pulled out a book, chucking it over to Tony who was reflexive enough to catch.

“... this looks promising,” Tony hummed cheerfully as he set the beer on the table and sat himself down to flip through the book.

“Brother, what have you done now?”

“Tony was bored. Unlike you, dear brother, someone here has a talent that shouldn’t be wasted!” Loki happily pilfered a beer of his own before settling himself on the couch cross-legged, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “What do you think, Stark? Do you think you’ve got what it takes?”

“Tony, you said you weren’t going to do this,” Bruce closed the door behind them and cast Tony a worried look. “What are you doing?”

“Well, it’s here now…”Tony’s hands formed a couple of distinct gestures before he paused and looked at Bruce. “Practicing. Sit down. Relax a little bit. Let’s see what the old man has been hoarding all to himself, shall we?”

“There are four specialties attributed to Conjuration. Invocation,” Loki began to explain easily, “the creation of something from another plane of existence, Summoning, the ability to bring another entity from one realm to another, Apportation, the ability to summon objects from various locations, and Banishment, the ability to remove an entity permanently from this realm. That book contains various advanced spells from all of these specializations.”

“Okay, well this just sounds like fun. This is literally a spell to summon alcohol from the arcane plane,” Tony grinned, looking at Bruce. “Even you have to admit that’s hardly dangerous…”

Tony practiced the hand gestures it took to invoke the spells. What was listed in the section he'd opened up to was manipulation of space and atmosphere and it piqued his curiosity as he flicked through the book. He caught Bruce looking at him almost terrified before finally speaking up and letting out a sigh.

"Calm down Bruce, Loki will return the book tomorrow, we're simply 'borrowing' it.'

"We are?" Loki mumbled into the bottle in his mouth.

"Yes, we are," Tony confirmed, finally settling on a page and starting to graze over the contents of the spell, reading through in-depth on what the purpose of the spells was, what the effects would be and the possible complications.

Tony made a series of brief hand gestures and his chest began to spark animatedly. He flinched as his chest vibrated and energy began to discharge from his chest, singing his robes a bit as a large black portal formed in front, and for a moment he seemed taken aback by the shadowy gate that had formed in front of him. 

Bruce leaped back, looking panicked as he gazed between it and Tony.

"Tony, what the hell?!" 

"Subspace portal, it's a subsection of Telemancy. With this basic spell, you can fold time and space, it's a wormhole in a way but unlike most Telemantic spells this can be used to travel between dimensions including pocket dimensions and other things. It's the base spell manufacturers use to create those crazy subspace houses that look normal on the outside but are much bigger on the inside," Tony cackled, looking at the portal and then looked between everyone.

“Yeah, so aren’t you technically stealing something? That’s probably why it’s not something they teach you…” Bruce mentioned, seemingly perturbed.

Loki was grinning, Thor seemed clueless.

"You shouldn't be messing with that stuff Tony!"

“Why not? You do. Your bookbag there that seems to swallow up books? It’s enchanted with a spell much like this one,” Tony smiled warmly. “You’re not afraid of your bookbag, are you?”

“My bookbag was made by a professional. If that thing became unstable-”

“It’s not unstable, though,” Thor took a moment to pipe up as he shifted a little bit closer. “I’ve seen unstable portals before - um, I’m… actually a lot better at Apportation than summoning,” he clarified as he smiled at Bruce a little. “But you can see the edges here are entirely stabilized. Unstable portals tend to have a haze around them which is how you know something is unstable…

“This is a really well-constructed portal…” Thor sat back after a moment. “I’m pretty impressed.”

“Oh you ain’t seen nothing yet, big guy,” Tony promised as he continued to flip through the book, dismissing the portal as he sought out something more extravagant.

Tony wiggled his eyebrows at Bruce before he started flipping through the book once again looking for another interesting spell. "You really know your stuff Thor, that's impressive, I'm actually surprised you aren't majoring in Telemancy and Apportation.”

"It's simply an extension of Telemancy, and I don't plan to go into cartography or that field. While it may be advanced it is not what I wish to do," he smiled.

"Well, your patience will pay off now, especially for you, Loki."

"Oh?" the raven-haired man purred as another portal opened up, this time directed into another part of the world. Tony raised a hand, it glowed purple before he reached through the portal to nab a bottle, handing it to Loki and then grabbing one for himself. The portal shut instantly and the purple glow around his hand seemed to shatter into dust before it faded as he started to uncap the very vintage-looking bottle of whiskey.

"A small gesture of thanks."

"Well a token indeed welcomed, this is quite the treasure, Tony."

"Nothing that can amount to knowledge," he grinned and Bruce looked like he was going to faint.

"Tony, seriously!”

"It's all in good fun, I know exactly what I'm getting into. Loki, I'll let you pick the next spell," he handed the man the book who already had the whiskey bottle open.

“Oh, I know just the spell…” Loki wriggled gleefully in his seat as he scanned through a few pages, seeking out the spell in question before offering the book over to Tony. “So far you’re only playing with moderately challenging spells. This one ought to really push you.”

“Tony, please, just consider-”

“No, no, I got this,” Tony grinned widely in return. “This? This is a worthy challenge. This is beautiful. Alright, let’s see here. Somatic components, verbal components… no material components… yeah, I can do this.”

The engineer got to his feet, stretching a little as he looked at the book, looking over the verbal spellcasting before taking a deep breath. 

Tony’s chest sparked to life and magic was summoned into his hands without a word as his somatic gestures began to leave traces in the air, and as the base circle was created he began his recitation. He knew his pronunciation well - his mother had taught him years ago, and she was a fantastic verbal spellcaster - so despite not being wholly certain what the words meant he was confident in his speech. The gestures were more complicated and the traces in the air were intricate and beautiful, burning brightly in the air without any heat, leaving the room awash with vibrant colours.

Energy seemed to move and swirl around the room and while Bruce shifted in clear discomfort, Loki leaned forward with avid fascination as Tony had to admit the power of the spell was something altogether different than anything he’d done before. He felt like he was breathing the energy, tasting it like his mother’s cinnamon rolls, feeling it on his skin like the softest silk. It enveloped him like a soft summer breeze and smelled like the crisp, refreshing scent of autumn, all the while he didn’t notice as the light on his arcane reactor began to glow ever brighter and crackle with volatile energy.

As he finished the gestures, he held his body still to end the recitation and the colours of the trace seemed more vibrant than before, filtering through the room before giving a burst of magical energy from his chest which shot through the room causing Thor to duck to the side. 

Sparkles and blue butterflies flitted around in the air as the trace fully activated before disappearing entirely. The butterflies were all that remained for a long moment, and Tony gave the book a perplexed look.

“Tony, for god’s sake, your reactor!”

“Shit- sorry, we’re good, everyone good?” he looked around curiously and there was a burn mark on the ceiling and a massive hole in his robes. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the butterflies settled on different pieces of furniture around the room. “All that to summon some butterflies?” Tony inquired, before looking to Loki in bewilderment.

“Hm, I have a feeling that one may not have worked as well as intended. Oh well, two out of three isn’t bad.”

“Okay, please tell me you’ve had your fun and you’re done with this now?” Bruce stood up finally, closing the book and pressing it against Tony’s chest firmly. “And return this to the professor before he notices it’s missing.”

"Ugh, fine yeah... I mean I'm probably going to turn in and Bruce has work to do," Tony handed the book back to Loki. "If you wouldn't mind getting this back to Fury in the morning, that would be great. That whiskey bottle is all yours too by the way."

"Hah, like I was going to give it up, but fine, ruin all the fun," Loki rolled his eyes taking the book back and tucking it back into his bag before nodding to Thor.

"I've got a bit of homework to get done," Bruce added softly and Thor seemed to nod in response.

"Probably a good time to head out then," Tony added softly, feeling a little disappointed at the idea that the spell hadn't worked out like he'd wanted it to.

"Well, wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble, see you saps at class tomorrow then," Loki grinned and Thor flashed Bruce a final wave of the hand before turning around and leaving with his brother.

Once the two brothers had vacated Tony immediately turned to Bruce. "I wonder why it didn't work..."

“Tony you nearly fried the ceiling, and us! I hope you have a way to cover that up.” Bruce looked up at the charred mark on the roof. “That magic is far too advanced for you and you're lucky you didn't get hurt."

"Oh, ye of little faith! Bruce, relax! I know exactly what I'm doing, there's no trial without learning, nor is there learning without trial," he grinned and shook his head.

"Sure, Tony but seriously. I think it's best we focus on our studies and stop trying to goof around, we'll get caught one of these days." Tony rolled his eyes, picking up his bag and walking off to his room.

"Turning in for the night, I'll catch you tomorrow." Bruce gave a wave as Tony shut his door, stripping out of his clothes and casting a small cleansing spell, too lazy to brush his teeth tonight.

Tony let out a yawn, looking out the window, a large ornate glass patio door that overlooked the apartment courtyard. He scratched the side of his stomach with a yawn and peeled back the sheets of his bed as he climbed on in for a night of rest. It was considerably early but he somehow felt overwhelmingly tired, probably from the strain on his reactor. Not to mention he had class at seven in the morning tomorrow so a good night of sleep would do him well.

* * *

The world around him felt wrong and he couldn’t place why.

To his eyes it was beautiful. 

Trees made of glowing crystal stretched out far above his head and the blown-out ruins of an unusual city was tucked amidst it. Buildings that stretched upwards and out resembling massive seashells and conches spanned the area behind him - he knew without looking, but in front of him was where his attention remained fixed, captivated almost.

The trees pulsed as though calling to him, and he felt that pulse radiating inside him - in his soul, and deeper than that. It was difficult to tear his eyes from the trees to find the dark spots between them that felt so dark they might, in fact, be small voids, or beady eyes.

He realized what was wrong.

The screaming. 

The screaming was somewhere in the darkness - in all of the darknesses, emanating from the voids. It made the beauty of his surroundings feel horrifying. A trap. A lie.

Danger. 

_ Danger. _

Something moved, dragging his attention from the darkness, though the screaming felt like it was getting louder and overwhelming him, a heavy ringing in his ears. It was hard to make out what the creature was at first, but he couldn’t help but stare at it. He realized soon enough, that he was following it.

_ They’re going somewhere _ . The entity that led him was resolute and unfaltering, and he could do little more than trail after it into a large building, and then down… down…  _ down… _

Down through hallways covered in a glowing crystal, pulsing in pinks and blues, greens and golds; down through rooms with their own screaming voids seeming almost like people, people who inhabited those rooms, people who would never inhabit anywhere but those rooms; down in a maze-like pathway that seemed to extend forever and ever.

It might be the center of the planet for all he knew. The crystals became darker, tinted with colours he had no words for, energy and power surging around him before everything turned a deep burgundy colour.

_ Danger. _

They continued further and deeper, and his body hesitated. His mind hesitated. The air felt thicker. It felt raw and suffocating.

Long winding archways fanned out in all directions, not enough light to see the end and to barely spy further but just enough to see in front of one's self. No matter what direction he turned, dread, the overwhelming sense of dread, the overpowering sense that he was not alone here and that there was something, or many things lurking within the passages of this underground labyrinth that were out to get him.

Shadows moved within the darkness and Tony's first instinct was to turn and run back up, to leave - he had to get out of here, but the stairwell in which he’d descended from was now gone.

Tony was at the crossroads of hallways, and he could vaguely make out something stirring in the dark of the narrow tunnels, shadows? Or was it simply his perception, illusions in the darkness? A trick of the mind perhaps?

A flash in the tunnel up ahead decided his path, and with all others weighing with a horrifying dread he bolted down towards it, chasing familiarity which acted as his only solace in the dark passage. 

He ran, he knew not what from, but he ran regardless. 

Something was chasing him, something had to be chasing him - heart rate speeding up, his heart, he could really feel it now. He could feel the sensation resonate within his soul, bitterness, resentment, it wanted him gone, it wanted him to leave, but there was something it also needed to tell him.

Orbs in the darkness, a few, now many as they crept forward - stringy, spindly creatures. Skeletal, visceral, hobbling and walking like the living dead as their red eyes - oh those haunting red eyes - swayed from side to side and terrifying shrieks and howls echoed. They were but an amalgamation of moving darkness and as they closed in, he felt the heartbeat resonate throughout his very essence.

He was afraid, he was terrified -  _ but so were they. _ Their voices, a cacophony of chaos in his mind, not one voice but many and all wanted to be heard.

He tripped, falling to the ground and suddenly he could see those awful wretched things, things that were lost down here. Unearthly, ghastly horrors that brought with them the very definition of fear incarnate as they closed in and Tony felt his heart might just burst in his chest at how fast it was beating.

He shrieked, covering his head and curling up in a ball, those awful haunting red eyes still permeating his tightly shut lids. They weren't simply a thing to see, but he felt their gaze, he felt their fears, he felt  _ them _ .

'Save us,' they gasped. 'Why did we have to die, why? Why us?' they chanted in tongues he couldn't comprehend but could understand.

One reached out to touch him. 'Beware the heart,' its fingers like ice, and he felt it through his entire body. He swore he would pass out from how utterly fear-stricken he was, how simply terrified he felt - he was certain he should be catatonic by now until it all simply stopped.

The whispers stopped, the dread faded away, and a blinding blue and white light like a star in a moonless sky shone brighter than the sun. It hit him with a wash of warmth and he relaxed as in his mind, he saw the brilliant opalescent form of a white angelic creature coalesce.

Azure blue with freckles of red and bright glowing cyan, the beast touched down, wrapping around him like the very light of day and warming him like the sun as everything seemed to fade away, the darkness, the dread and what was left was an incubating warmth.

“Come, little one.” The warmth seeped into words and the words into his mind. They were clear and bright, and encouraging despite how deep the voice was. 

“Come, we are almost where we need to be.”

He didn’t want to move. He couldn’t move.

“ _ You can _ ,” the voice encouraged, and the warmth slowly eased deeper into him, his muscles, his bones, his heart… He reached out and found the warmth to be soft. Thick strands of something - feathers perhaps? - slid through his fingers and before he knew it he was resting on the creature’s back.

_ Safe. _

“Where are we going?” he asked quietly, refusing to look behind him, instead staring forward.

“Somewhere unpleasant, I fear. But your soul already decided. So we must see it through,” the beast responded, taking sure steps forward down the path that had felt so frightening before. There was still a vague sense of unease as they moved forward, but the sense of safety that came with the creature beneath him gave him more than enough room to breathe. 

He wasn’t alone. He’d faced unpleasantry before.

“What’s this way?”

“The source,” the creature responded ambiguously, yet in his heart,  _ he knew. _

The source of the fear. The source of the horror. The source of  _ everything. _

“And behind us… what were those?”

“‘Who’ is a more apt question, though those answers are lost with everything else down here.”

The path became clearer, and Tony found himself walking again as the end drew near. The large beast he’d been riding stood ahead of him, vast wings seeming to stretch endlessly into a night sky that he passively knew shouldn’t be there. 

_ They were in a tunnel after all… _ ?

The creature’s tail draped around a pedestal that housed something that was at once stone, liquid, and energy, and the beast’s deep eyes stare at him, beckoning him forward. Encouraging him.

His hand reached out, and the pedestaled object solidified, allowing his hand to curl around it.

At once the feeling of safety disappeared. The world around him became darkness and everything became wrong again - worse than it had been before. It was darker. Deeper. He felt as though he was surrounded by endlessness and would be lost, adrift with no reprieve, forever.

Eyes watched him, he realized. Two larger points of light, far greater than the sun, and thousands more besides. Eyes that approached in the darkness. Eyes that he knew belonged to the creatures from before. As he ran, the sense of the greater beast that watched him became more apparent - a great, dark dragon whose very body gave him the traction to run.

It’s maw opened widely and just as he was certain it would eat him the sense of safety returned in full force.

The world around him became bright - too bright to see - and he buried his face against the mass of feathers as the creature holding him gave a fierce cry.

Safety.

He was safe.

He was protected.

_ “Wake up.” _

* * *

The warmth carried over, like being bundled up in soft blankets. The heat of the beast was still permeating his core both physically and spiritually. The dream was so fresh in his mind as he came to the waking world he could still feel the fur and the soft feathers against his cheek rather than the pillow under his head.

Tony turned over in his bed and his pillow felt softer and squishier than ever, either this was a lucid dream or the sublime sensations from his vision had yet to fade. He felt the tingling in his cheeks as he turned into a face-full of feathers and that was when he realized something was very different.

Tony's eyes shot open and he looked up to see the haven of white feathers all around him. White and blue, deep midnight and indigo feathers wrapped all around him with the soft inhalations of something large.

He'd brought something back from him from his dreams, and he knew not how. 

He laid there in a panic, wondering what to do, wondering if this thing he'd brought back was going to eat him. It appeared to still be sleeping but that could change at any moment.

He made an attempt to move, slowly and carefully, rising from the bed of opalescent white feathers. The beast shifted immediately, feathers idly curling around him and pressing him in tightly against a soft, round stomach and then soon enough, a large stout paw fell over his midsection, not heavy, but strong.

Tony was pinned, and he wasn't sure whether to wake the beast or make another attempt to slip away before it woke. There were so many thoughts rushing through his mind at the moment, but he opted to take things one step at a time and work through his current conundrum in steps.

He made another attempt to remove himself from the creature's side, this time requiring much more wiggling and movement. He put both his hands on the massive paw. How this thing was on his bed with him was beyond him, but he wiggled himself out, inch by inch, nearly smothered under the white plumage. As he finally moved the paw away, silently rejoicing, he realized after looking up after two bright blue eyes were staring at him, watching him and he startled and moved back against the creature's side as if trying to back away from it.

"Have you never heard of the phrase ‘let sleeping dragons lie?’" The thing grumbled almost indignantly, staring back at Tony and pinning him again.

It hit him then in a heady rush. 

_ A dragon. _

He felt almost faint as he considered it. This wasn’t exactly how he’d envisioned a dragon. This creature looked nothing like the dragon in his dream - a scaley, leathery creature with a great maw and a number of teeth beyond counting was his visual definition.

This creature looked more the part of a griffon, or something more birdlike than anything resembling what he would consider a dragon, covered in feathers and a hunter’s beak, hooked at the tip and made for rending flesh. His flesh, perhaps.

“... you’re… a dragon…?” Even to his own ears, the words sounded feeble. The dragon gave a great rumble of amusement at that.

“I am.”

“How did you-? Why are you… here?”

“You should know, summoner. You called me here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	3. Chapter 3

_ Summoner. _

The word hit him like a freight train. 

He’d summoned a dragon literally a day after being told that such would result in punishment. He’d summoned a dragon without knowing it. He’d summoned a dragon that was staring at him, it’s mouth opening wide as though--

“Please, don’t eat me,” he whimpered, trapped beneath a big paw and pinned by piercing blue eyes. The dragon tilted its head to one side, two tufts of feathers - ears? - perking up a little at that request, before laughing deeply, the sound resonating through his chest warmly before the dragon peered around the room thoughtfully, looking thoroughly curious.

“Why did you summon me?” he inquired after a moment of examining the room.

“... I don’t… It was… an accident? A dare, I guess? I didn’t realize what I’d done?”

He could feel the dragon’s amusement at that, his chest rumbling with it as the creature bowed his head to stare more pointedly at Tony. “Do you realize what you have done?”

“Oh I can think of a good thousand things off the top of my head and… shit, wait. If I’ve summoned you, then you have to obey me, right?” Hope sprung suddenly. “Remove your paw at once!”

“And how do you intend to make me do that, precisely, summoner?” the dragon inquired sniffing at him some.

"W-well, if I summoned you here than I can surely send you back," Tony stammered, struggling to worm his way out from under the dragon's paw. The beast curled its bulky digits and kept him in place, refusing to let the engineer crawl any further away. 

At the comment on being sent back to his realm, the dragon flicked its tail, much like a cat with mild irritation but it only seemed amused by the threat.

"Ah, so an expert now are we? I would honestly like to see you try," he bellowed clearly entertained, pushing down on Tony's shoulders and keeping him pressed against the bed on his chest.

"Now-" the dragon's ears - feathers? - flared curiously as he sniffed the air and looked around the comparatively small apartment bedroom. "Where have you called me to, summoner?" his massive head turned to look back at Tony, wings folding up to make space.

"This is my room, my apartment."

"So, your castle then? Are you a lord?"

"No, this is my apartment."

"I do not follow," the beast squinted as if he couldn't comprehend the words.

Tony had a hard time keeping up with the questions, he'd barely scratched the surface of conceptualizing that he'd summoned a dragon, a  _ real _ dragon, and it was in his room, in his apartment,  _ larger-than-fucking-life _ .

He needed to send it back somehow, though at least it appeared that this thing wasn't going to hurt him,  _ for now. _

"Listen," Tony finally managed to push the dragon's paw off of his back with enough force and the things head snapped towards him.

"I'm your summoner, you  _ have _ to listen to me." The dragon let out an amused loud snuffle, eyes narrowing at Tony and tail thumping around. His body shook as he knocked over clothes and a lamp in the process.

"You need to go back."

"I most certainly do not need to do a thing you say. Why should I take orders from some creature who doesn’t know a thing about magic and summoning?"

"Excuse me?!" Tony narrowed his eyes and the dragon looked amused at his indignance. "Dragons are not allowed here, If you get caught outside you'll be forced back regardless!" Tony narrowed his eyes and the two engaged in some sort of staring match.  "- So I suggest you cooperate and at the very damn least work with me here. Or, you know, you could go out there and start flying around or do whatever the hell you dragons do and find out for yourself."

“Sent back…?” the dragon looked thoroughly amused at that. “Sent back where, little summoner? Do you know where you took me from? I cannot be sent back to a place that you cannot name. And as my summoner, there are threats and dangers to  _ you _ if I am forcibly banished… do you expect that they will risk your life for that, I wonder?”

He could’ve sworn there had been some comment made about how difficult it was to control a dragon made the other day, but his still sleep-fogged brain couldn’t remember the specifics. This dragon was clearly willful, however, and the beast wiggled itself around a bit as he continued to examine the room.

“Please?” Tony tried, “look, there are laws! We’ll both get in trouble if you’re found out!”

“Who would dare give a dragon trouble?” the feathered creature inquired as he somehow managed to nose the door open, starting to stick his head through. Tony rushed over in a panic to climb onto the beast’s back, tugging at his feathers to try and pull him back in.

“Hey! Quit that! Just… stay here! Listen, if you really do cause problems they’re not going to give a shit about me. They’re going to give a shit about the giant threat that’s wandering around - namely you. So yeah, they’ll send you back regardless of me. There are no more dragons in this realm!”

The dragon gave a grumble at that before wiggling in his place a bit, his head thunking on the doorframe. He gave another tug to try and pull his head back into the bedroom and the thunk sounded again before he gave a distressed noise, his wings starting to flare and knock things over as the dragon fought to drag himself back into the bedroom, apparently too big to properly fit through the door.

Claws dragged up splinters of wood as the dragon attempted to claw his way out of his stuck position and his noises of protest grew louder, his tail thrashing about. “Would- would you stop that? You’re going to break everything! Calm down, will you?”

A huff was his answer before the beast gave a low grumble. It took a moment before he finally was able to pull his head back through the door and Tony hopped off of his back to quickly check for feathers before slamming the door closed.

Tony was knocked back by the large furry dragon tail and the white and blue feathered beast let out a disgruntled noise as it laid back down on its side right beside Tony like it had no concept of space.

"Thank you," Tony started, inspecting the damage. The drake had done a number on his door, claw marks on the door frame, shattered lamps, it was a godsend that money was no object, and he might know a few spells to help patch it up or even know someone who did.

"Hey Tony, is everything alright in there?" Bruce's voice came from outside and Tony looked between the creature that appeared just as confused.

"Stay put, please," Tony ran a hand through his hair nervously and the beast looked like it was going to follow before the engineer held up a hand. It's massive ears perked forward, and he quickly slipped through the door, shutting it behind him and was face-to-face with his roommate.

"Tony?" Bruce furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, so...." he sighed rubbing the back of his head.

"What did you do?" Bruce had a knowing look on his face.

"Remember yesterday when I tried to cast that spell and nothing happened?" There was a thump in the room of something else being knocked over and Bruce looked over his shoulder, Tony blocking the door quickly.

"... Tony?"

"Yeah I might have maybe conjured something in the night, but I have it under control!" he added as the door thumped.

"What did you summon...?"

"Just a big animal, just get going to class and I'll meet you there. I need to dismiss it, everything is fine."

"Everything is usually  _ not _ fine when you say that."

"Trust me."

"How can I?" Bruce sounded very concerned.

"Just go, I'll be there soon!" 

The other man sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading to the door of the apartment. "This place better not be trashed when I get back. Seriously Tony, whatever you've got in your room better be gone by the time I get back!" he opened the door and left.

As soon as Bruce left, he shut the door and dead-bolted it before turning to his bedroom door and opening it. The dragon's backside was up against the door, so a wall of white and blue feathers was what met Tony as he opened it.

He sighed.

"You are seriously going to get us both in trouble," Tony tried to push on the feathers and move the dragon but it was like trying to move a brick wall.

“I did not exactly summon myself, summoner,” the dragon responded, picking up the human and maneuvering him to sit on his chest as he inspected the man.

“My name is Tony, not summoner,” Tony stated pointedly, disgruntled by the ease with which the dragon seemed to drag him around. “Do you have a name?”

“You would know, would you not?” the dragon inquired and Tony gave him a confused look. Blue eyes stared back at him unflinchingly.

“Is being cryptic a hobby of yours?”

“For someone with the power to summon a dragon, your knowledge on summoning is severely lacking it would seem,” the dragon drawled.

“You’re kind of an asshole for someone who just got his head stuck in a door.” The dragon’s feathers puffed up at that, and the beast’s ears pinned back against his head. “Don’t like that, huh? But you are. And inconveniently large.”

“Of course I am large. I am a dragon. What did you expect?”

“Hint: I didn’t expect a dragon to begin with. So I didn’t think about it much. Anyway, I have to go to classes before I manage to draw any further suspicion.”

“You’re leaving me alone? I want to go with you.”

“That’s not going to happen. What did I just say about you being inconveniently large and drawing further suspicion?” Tony frowned.

In a flurry of feathers Tony found himself on the floor and a small, almost bird-sized, dragon sat perched on his bed, staring at him. “I want to go with you,” he reiterated.

Tony grunted, realistically there was no arguing with the dragon, it wasn’t like he could really tell it what to do and it was insistent on doing its own thing regardless of whether he wanted it to or not. The best he could do was compromise. He walked over to grab one of his robes with a big hood and pockets, picking up his bag and opening the top flap for it.

"Pick your palace." The dragon's tail flicked and rather than hopping into the offered bag it flapped itself over to Tony's shoulder and crawled into his hood.

"You consider this worthy of royalty?" the dragon scoffed.

"You can't let people see you," Tony warned before slinging his bag over his shoulder and looking back at his nearly destroyed bedroom. He let out a sigh and closed the door, the small dragon’s head poking up over the lip of his hood as he locked up the apartment and headed out towards class.

"I will decide that, summoner."

"It's Tony."

The dragon huffed indignantly, wings splaying a bit as he bounced around in his hood.

Tony rushed off towards his first class, another early morning lecture with Bruce. By now he was already fifteen minutes late and was pretty sure the teacher was going to kill him. The class was on schools of magic and the lecture hall doors were closed by the time he got to the auditorium.

"Damnit," he muttered.

"What is the problem?"

"Doors are closed, I'm late."

"Do you need me to break them down?"

"What?  **No** , don't you even think of that," Tony looked around and reached behind him to touch the dragons forehead, he immediately cast a cloaking spell on the dragon, took a deep breath and reached for the door, he knew no matter how quiet he was he would draw attention to himself as soon as he walked in the door.

Thankfully the lights were out in the auditorium, a hologram up for presentation and even though the heavy doors clicked open and locked as he snuck in, he was able to discreetly slip around the outside of the lecture hall tables and slide up the side stairs leading up into the back end of the room.

He caught the young professor's gaze on him as he ascended the stairs, but the man didn't stop his lecture to penalize his tardiness. As he took a seat he couldn’t help but notice how young the man who was teaching them was - his age? Maybe a little younger? - and yet he spoke with confidence and clarity about the subject of Divination.

“An excellent diviner,” the dragon in his hood hummed his approval.

“Sh, someone’s going to hear you.”

“No one can hear me but those I wish to hear me, summoner,” the dragon responded with amusement.

Tony had always found the idea of Divination a little bit flight of fancy, and even as he grew bored and restless he could at least appreciate that their teacher was kind of cute. The dragon didn’t seem impressed by his reactions, making efforts to clarify that Divination was a highly advanced skillset that most well-practiced students of magic couldn’t comprehend anyway.

By the end of the class, Tony could barely stand to have the dragon with him.

“Stay,” he’d made it back to the apartment and instructed the dragon pointedly after class, setting him on his bed again. “I have two more classes and I don’t need you talking in my ear the whole time again.”

“You were disrespecting Professor Kaplan yourself, plenty,” the dragon responded without amusement, staring at him.

“Just… stay here and try not to make a mess. Okay? Because I honestly can’t concentrate on what’s going on with you talking in my ear like that.”

“Fine. Your offered nest was uncomfortable anyway,” the dragon huffed a bit, turning away from him as though dismissing him and making himself comfortable on a pillow.

“Good. Behave yourself. I’ll be back soon.”

He was anxious about leaving the dragon behind, but he had two more classes to attend before he had time to actually consider what to do with the dragon. 

If only it were so easy.

He found that the majority of time in the classes he was left fretting regardless. What if the dragon had gotten into something? What if he’d caused issues? What if he’d left? What happened if the dragon had just escaped and left him behind? What if he’d somehow unleashed a dragon on the world while he was sitting there worried about his grades?

By the time he returned he was anxious and overwhelmed. He flew to his bedroom without waiting to greet Bruce and closed the door behind himself before turning to greet the drake he’d left alone.

The words died on his tongue.

His floor was covered in gems and jewelry, gold and silver, and the dragon sprawled across his bed - larger than he’d last seen him, but smaller than when he’d first met him - peeking an eye open to glance at Tony.

“Oh. You have returned. Delightful.”

"What the hell is all this?!" Tony couldn't keep his voice down, the dragon immediately fanned out his feathers, puffing up from the engineer's raised voice.

"It's a gift - for you, my summoner!"

"My name is Tony, I have a name!"

"And so do I, when you start using mine, I will start using yours."

"You haven't told me what to call you by!"

"And I should not need to," the dragon cocked his head indignantly and flicked his tail.

Tony was a hair-pin away from pulling out his hair, he waded through the hefty clutter of gems and gold on the ground. "What bank did you rob to get all of this, do you know how much trouble I'm going to be in?!"

"I robbed nothing, this is not stolen, I simply found it."

"Where, pray tell, could you possibly find all this?!" Tony threw his head back and groaned.

"Hey, Tony, who are you talking to? Are you feeling alright? You've been acting strange all day."

"It's fine Bruce, no one, don't worry..." he sighed, turning to the smallish dragon whose ears were perked. "Let me get one thing straight: I don't want treasure hoarding in my dorm! I want all of this gone." The dragon's ears pinned back in distress. 

"I am certainly not no one! And this is what I do! Do you not wish for riches? I have not known a human in all my life to rebuff the gifts of gold and diamonds," his tail flicked back and forth wildly, thumping against the wall as he puffed himself up.

"No, I wish you'd conform to human societal standards! You aren't in whatever realm I summoned you from anymore." The dragon looked a little distraught as Tony paced through the room.

"Stay," Tony pointed, eyeing the drake carefully before he went to his door.

"Tony...-" he heard Bruce knock again and sighed, he opened the door slipping out.

"I know you're hiding something in there you don't want me to see. I know you've done something so you might as well tell me so I can help you fix it. I'm not mad, I'm just kind of worried," Bruce did look concerned and Tony ran his hand down his face.

"This doesn't leave the apartment. Any of this," Tony hesitated a moment and when he opened the door once again the dragon was right there, fluffing up curiously, feathers popping through the door as it stepped forwards now sniffing at Bruce.

"He's a friend, don't you dare hurt him." Tony stepped back as he was met with a face-full of white feathers.

“You keep assuming that I will cause harm,” the dragon growled a bit irritably, though he rested his head on the floor to sniff at Bruce as the man stood still, as though paralyzed. “... hello, human. Please tell me that you, at least, have some concept of how summoning works, since my summoner apparently has not the slightest idea of what he is doing?”

“... Tony…” Bruce breathed out, staring at the feathered head, “you summoned a dragon. A  _ dragon, _ Tony…”

“Yeah. He’s made that clear. Loudly and often. What do I do with him?”

“I’m not a summoner, Tony…!” Bruce huffed a little, giving the dragon an uncertain look. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to suggest here aside from talking to Fury… he’d know better than I would by far. Dragons and the summoning of them is far beyond what knowledge I have. Does he have a name, yet?”

“Well if he does he hasn’t chosen to tell me what it is.”

The dragon growled at that and Bruce ran a hand into his hair. “He can’t tell you his name, Tony. Only a summoner knows the name of their summoned companion. He doesn’t have a name until his name is bestowed upon him.”

“... great. I guess we’re calling him Fluffy then.”

“... that’s… not quite how it works,” Bruce sighed heavily. “Giving him  _ a _ name isn’t the same as giving him his  _ true name _ ...”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Tony huffed in frustration, and the dragon rolled his eyes in response.

“Be a better summoner.”

“I never wanted to be a summoner to begin with! I came here to learn Enchantment! Technomancy! Artificing! I didn’t want a dragon! I didn’t want a bird! I definitely didn’t want  _ you _ !” the engineer responded in frustration as he tried to figure out what to do about this. 

Summoning a dragon could get him in a lot of trouble - if he came forward to Fury about this, he could be sent home to deal with his father again, and he wanted nothing to do with that. “I don’t even like cats, and you’re basically a giant, asshole of a cat! Destroying things, bringing unwanted presents and leaving a mess everywhere-”

“-Tony-”

“-you don’t listen to a word I say, you’re constantly being mouthy-”

“-Tony!”

“What?” Tony turned on Bruce to see the dragon sitting very still. His feathers were smoothed down entirely, his ears pinned back and his eyes focused on the man who had summoned him. He seemed to have flinched back some as he now sat further back in the room, well away from the humans. He looked regal in a way but didn’t seem pleased.

“What, did I offend you?” he grumbled at the dragon, who didn’t respond to the words more than to tuck his head a little bit.

“It’s not his fault he’s here, Tony,” Bruce tried to reason with him, somewhat more softly. “You tore him from his plane of existence and brought him here. Why are you taking this out on him?”

Tony moved over and slid down against the wall, he gave the drake a brief look over his shoulder before pressing his head into his hands, frustrated.

"I can't go back, I can't go home. Homelife is god awful and this is the only shot I've got at finally making something of all of this, everything I've worked for. I can't risk being expelled, I can deal with a slap on the wrist. Now, because of some stupid dare, I'm stuck in this situation." Bruce looked between the dragon and Tony, one of the tufts of quills on its cheek, flicking as it averted it's gaze.

"You've gotta make a decision here, pal. If you're not going to talk to Fury about it at least consider switching majors, or you know, double majoring? It's not like it's beyond your scope." 

Tony let out a frustrated growl which for the moment sounded more beastly than the dragon’s.

Bruce continued softly. "I hate to break it to you man but you got yourself into this mess, you gotta find a way out of it." There was some scraping of coins and jingling of metal as the dream-drake curled up on the gold pile, tucking its head under its wings and tail around its head.

"Why not, instead of yelling at him, talk to him like an adult. He's probably more than ten-times your age anyways and you've been yelling at him like he's some disobedient house pet." Tony sighed, pulling himself up off of his feet. "I-It is a he, right?" Bruce peeked into the room to look at the dragon, all he got was a flick of its ear through the pile of feathers on the bed.

"Right..." Tony stood up and walked over to the dragon, kneeling down. Its ear flicked again and there was a thumping of its tail almost as it was irritated. Tony put a hand down on the dragon's haunch and his feathers ruffled, lifting it's big head to side-glance at Tony.

"Are you done with your crass words, summoner, or do you plan on kicking me out on the street like a common mutt?"

"I want to work with you," Tony removed his hand, and the dragon's tail stopped thumping against the ground. "Can you shapeshift? Disguise yourself as a human in some way? Because maybe this will work out better if you can."

The dragon made a noise that sounded like a scoff, a low impatient bellow, "Child's play."

Tony waited. He waited. And waited. 

_ And waited. _

The dragon gave a huff of frustration after a moment, and Tony rolled his eyes. “You were saying?”

“... I cannot… I cannot seem to use my magic,” the dragon responded lowly, his feathers twitching further as he tried to examine himself, before staring sternly at Tony. 

“What plane is this? If you can summon - if you speak of artificing and technomancy - there must be magic on this plane!”

“Sounds to me like someone’s dealing with a little  _ performance anxiety _ ,” Tony hummed to himself in an attempt to keep himself calm, before another voice popped up from the doorway, the deadbolt and a quick spell sealing the front door entirely.

“I’m surprised you kept him concealed this long,” Loki’s voice chimed as he strode over, looking beyond pleased with himself.

“Fucking hell - I’m not sure I want to talk to you right now, I can’t believe you did this!” Tony turned on Loki with a deep frown, and the raven-haired man shrugged.

“I didn’t do this. You did. With purpose.” As Loki drew nearer, however, Tony found himself gathered back against the feathery dragon’s chest paws and tail surrounding him as the dragon puffed up a bit.

“Calm down there, Fluffy, as pissed with him as I am Loki’s not an enemy.”

“I am not entirely certain that I agree with your assessment, summoner,” the dragon responded lowly, not releasing him in the slightest as he stared intently at Loki. 

The man didn’t seem bothered.

“Loki, what’s going on here?”

“As you’ve astutely figured out, Tony summoned a dragon. A dream dragon, by the looks of him. And you have dreamt yourself a beautiful dragon, haven’t you?” Loki smiled widely at that. “But for all the power he may have… he’s limited in his use of magic. Until he is given his name, the majority of his powers are going to remain on lockdown. Without a name, your dragon is, for the most part, powerless. Weakened and limited.”

The dragon in question bristled at that assertion, becoming steadily more fluffy until his feathers surrounded Tony quite entirely.

The drake's fringe flared, ears erect and quills spread wide as if trying to make himself look bigger.

"You can stop that now, what kind of barbaric world do you think this is? I'm a friend," Loki held his hands out to show he was harmless, did a small spin and this seemed to settle the drake some but he didn't deflate from his guarded state. "See? No harm."

Tony tried to worm his way out from the drake's stocky paws but the creature kept pulling him back in. "Easy, easy… he's a friend." Almost as if it was instinct he leaned back and started running his fingers through the drake's mane, patting the ruffled feathers and this seemed to settle the dragon's unease further.

"You may have  _ my _ summoner sold on your lies but I will not be taken in by your false skin," the drake spat bitterly. 

Tony noticed that his petting seemed to soothe him and he kept an arm around the drake to try and keep him settled. It was odd to be coddled and protected by a giant fluffy dragon, not that he needed protection from his own friends but it sparked something, something fond, the idea that something wanted to keep him safe as the dragons mannerisms were clearly in line with one trying to put themselves in harm's way for him.

Tony furrowed his brows, confused.

There was no harm here, just Bruce and Loki.

"Typical dragons, always so possessive, I see he's already built you a horde, it's been what - not even a day and he's got all of the earth's riches here in your dormitory," Loki chuckled softly. "But fairly so for a treasure-of-a-man," Loki wiggled his eyebrows at Tony. "He's got good taste."

The drake took a step forward, egged on by the comment and Tony had to push back against the drake's chest to keep him from lashing out at Loki. 

"I want to work together with you, trust me when I say a friend is a friend, Loki is a friend. Work with me here!" He felt the dragon ease some, grumbling lowly but rather than stepping forward he pulled Tony in with the curvature of his tail.

"I trust you, but I do not trust him. You are the only reason I've held back, I can't stand having his kind within my space," the drake hissed and Tony sighed, continuing to comb his fingers through his feathers.

"So what now? What's the next step, since you seem to be the expert here Loki?"

Bruce was quiet, watching the exchange almost terrified of what would happen.

“I just love dragons,” Loki hummed a little, and the dragon seemed to growl lowly at that, “but as Thor said, no one would trust me with one even if we were allowed, so I suppose it’s lucky I’ve studied a thing or two about dragons. And in any case, it’s fair to say that it’s as much the dragon’s fault he’s here as it is yours, Tony. When you summon a dragon all it does is put out a call to them. Your summon - the summon that responds to your call - is often the dragon that is most like you in terms of dragons. There are reasons dragons were banned from this realm - namely, that not all summoners are pure, sweet creatures like yourself.”

“I’m not-”

“Ah-ah-ah! Let me finish,” Loki grinned at the brunette. “Every time you point out something you dislike about your dragon, you are likewise pointing out a trait you likely possess yourself. Summoners have a unique quality of curiosity and a desire to learn, and in putting out a call to a summon, you’ve called a summon who is also curious and has a desire to learn. He is here because he is curious - at least, I assume that Tony didn’t have any particular plans for world domination in mind. If he did, we might now all be grave danger,” Loki chuckled at that.

“So wait, you’re… are you pissed off with him because both of you are too stubborn to meet in the middle?” Bruce turned on Tony with confusion.

“I’m not stubborn!” Tony frowned for a moment, before rubbing at his face with a hand. 

“... shit.”

Tony looked between Bruce and Loki, he then looked up to see bright blue eyes staring down at him and at that moment he felt he might just want to sink into the wall of feathers behind him.

"I don't know what to do with him now that he's here is the thing," he heard, or rather felt, the rumble of the dragon's chest on his back. 

Loki only rolled his eyes. 

"Yes, and he's probably just as terrified, he doesn't know what to do with you either, not to mention he's been plucked right from his home realm, wherever that is. Whether you like it or not you two are tethered, and even if you were to learn to send him back, the bridge has already been formed for him, he's very much a part of you as you are of him. Think about it as a shotgun wedding." The drake turned its head, ears swivelling as if accepting of the explanation.

"Loki, I'm not married to a dragon." The dragon's ears pinned back a little in discontent.

"No, but you still have the same responsibilities as that of a married couple, a kinship so to speak," Loki took a step closer and the drake lowered his head and flared his frills again. The raven-haired man could only roll his eyes in return.

"As much as I do not want to agree, the  _ snake _ speaks the truth, if you do not already know what it takes then I may be able to help you with what you do not know my summoner," the dragon narrowed his eyes at Loki. "And as much as I hate it, this creature knows much about this too."

“You’re rude,” Loki sniffed at that, looking at Tony. “Your dragon is rude.”

“I’m sure you did something to deserve it,” Tony responded, though he looked at the dragon again thoughtfully. “Would you chill out a bit, though? I am not your baby bird, big guy, and I also can’t breathe feathers. So… just… settle down?”

“I won’t pretend to know as much about dragons as the dragon himself,” Loki smiled and the dragon behind him started to puff up again before trying to relax, “but I do know considerably more about summoning and about this world. Even if my brother is absolute shit at it, I’ve still retained plenty of knowledge about it, and my mother was an excellent summoner herself back in the day. There are plenty of things that I can help you both deal with, so long as you two can learn to deal with each other.”

“There’s still a dragon in our apartment,” Bruce pointed out a little drolly. “That’s still an issue.”

“... if it is cause for issue or alarm… I can attempt to make a home elsewhere,” the dragon heaved a sigh as he responded.

“And take your hoard of riches with you?”

The dragon gave Tony a fixed look at that, and Loki hummed slightly with a little smirk but said nothing. The feathered beast gave a huff before looking away. “If you detest it so much.”

"Well, if this is all taken care of… All I need to worry about currently is fixing all these scratch marks and room damage that make this place look like it was torn apart by a rabid lion," Tony sighed.

"I think it works out to my advantage if you can shrink big guy, you're fine to come to classes with me as long as you're not there to distract me, I think that invisibility spell worked today, but I can't promise that all the faculty might be fooled by your disguise or my shroud," Tony lightly patted the drake's neck and it shuffled its feet on the ground, responding positively to the light touches.

"I'm hoping everything between you lot is all good now? Yes?" Bruce looked a little perturbed as he flashed a look between the two men, mouth slightly agape.

"Now, Tony, I believe you had some ground rules you wanted to set," Loki offered to try and keep Tony on the subject, he was incredibly overwhelmed at the moment with everything. There were so many feelings and thoughts racing through his mind, considering all the complications of getting caught, and then considering the potential of everything working out in the end.

Juggling the classes he wanted, juggling those he didn't in the spirit of making things work out with this new and unexpected addition to his life now.

"Right, we went over the gold thing," Tony started and the drake’s ears flattened again. 

"Simply gifts, for you my summoner."

Tony sighed. "I appreciate the thought, but not necessary. I'm not one for material wealth, as in… I have enough of it. No property damage, no killing and no stealing - kind of a big thing in society here..."

"I have not killed a soul."

"Yes I know, but don't go picking fights like you almost did."

"And next you are going to tell me I can't breathe?"

“You’re being dramatic. Did you want to work together or not?”

“Dragons do have a tendency towards the dramatic,” Loki interjected, and Bruce grabbed the man by the arm to drag him away before he could rile the beast up again.

“Come on. Let them sort things out on their own. Go have a beer or something. Is your brother joining us?”

“He’s probably locked outside the door now,” the raven-haired man responded as he closed Tony’s bedroom door behind him to leave the man and his dragon alone.

“You shouldn’t trust him,” the dragon stated softly as he watched the door close. “I am only trying to keep you safe.”

“Mm, keep me safe a little less aggressively, alright champ?” Tony gave him another pat before starting to get changed out of his day clothes and into something softer and more comfortable. “If you’re sleeping with me here then you can at least make yourself a little smaller for it, right? I do like to move around in my sleep and you take up a lot of space. Otherwise, we’ll have to make arrangements.”

The brunette stared at the riches that spanned his room and ran a hand into his hair. “Tomorrow morning you clean all this up, alright? I’ll pick you up after my first class if you want to stay close and it’s all cleaned up. You can accompany me then.”

Picking his way over the piles of treasure to the bed, he brushed a few coins off of his covers and sat against his headboard. The dragon simply watched him, before nodding.

“Very well. If that is… what you wish.” The drake became considerably smaller as he made his way onto the bed himself, having no issues with personal space as his much more reasonably sized form laid itself atop Tony, pressing the red and green spot on the top of his head against Tony’s chest gently.

“You’re a lot cuter at this size,” Tony murmured petting the dragon’s head and listening as the creature gave a deep, rumbling noise of contentment at that.

Tony waved a hand and the lights in the room went out, the light from the moon in the courtyard streaming into the window to illuminate the rest of the room.

The engineer slipped under the sheets, his drake shuffling to move with him and curling up against his chest and purring softly as he brushed the bridge of his nose against the humming arcane spot within his chest.

"What is it with you creatures and having an affinity for my chest? First Fury's bird and now you," Tony chuckled softly, letting the light blue feathers brush against his skin. The creature's head was soft, especially so now that he was only in a soft silk robe with an open front.

"The energy it resonates is relaxing and pleasant, kind of like a song," he spoke with a low husky voice, flaring his feathers as he got comfy. Tony slung an arm over his neck, despite The dragon's size he felt light as if the dragon’s weighed nowhere near as much as it looked. "It is like a magnet."

"Hmm, so I can bribe you with hugs then as payment? Or all-arcane access?" One of Tony's hands went to the stout paw resting over his hips, tracing over the scales on his fingers and feeling an odd fissuring along the knuckles like his fingers had been sliced. He couldn't see anything but he'd have to ask, what it was when he wasn't so tired.

“Do you plan to deny me them? You ought to know that what the snake said is not wrong. I am very old, you will find bribing me challenging…” the dragon’s words were quiet and almost kind as he spoke, “but you may find that there are more suitable ways to bribe me.”

The dragon’s wings still spanned the width of the bed when he spread them out as though stretching, though there was a comfortable weight to them as he rested them over the two of them like a soft downy blanket - perfect for the season, really.

“Is it time to sleep?” the feathered creature inquired lowly, and Tony simply nodded, closing his eyes.

“It’s been a hell of a day. I could use the rest. Sweet dreams, Fluffy.”

The dragon gave a soft chuckle at that. “Goodnight, summoner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for slight gore/violence this chapter. Please be advised.

Tony's dreams had mostly been scattered manifestations of events from the day before, nothing that directly correlated to one another but for sure Bruce, Loki and his newly summoned companion were present within the dream.

Most of the night had been, however, dreamless - or in proper terms, he simply couldn't remember most of them. Unlike the night before that he'd vividly manifested the big soft bedfellow that he currently had sleeping next to him, tonight was restful and calm, and notably much more comfortable.

Once again, Tony woke up in a curl of feathers. The dragon had grown twice his size in the night and Tony was well aware of this as he was sandwiched between the wall his bed was propped up against and around a warm dragon belly. It was cozy, and the feathers on the drake's stomach were monumentally softer and much more delicate than those covering the rest of his body.

There was a soft whistling and Tony attempted to stretch, one of the soft-padded feet of the drake hanging over his side and curling around his back. He could feel the not-so-calloused underpadding of its paws through the light silk fabric of his robe and it felt just as nice as the fur he had nearly a face full of.

He'd opted to sleep further, mumbling something how his companion was taking up so much more of the bed than he'd remembered but tried to close his eyes and enjoy the morning rest, of all days he didn't have an exhaustingly early start.

Five more minutes of rest, just five more, _ maybe ten? _

He could harp on his summon in ten minutes, right now he was warm and relaxed and --

Tony felt an off pricking at his scalp, and light tugs at his hair. He felt them pull and drag, combed through something as if… the dragon was grooming him?

"Hey, fluffy..."

"Mmm?" the drake answered.

"Are you… preening my hair...?"

“It is messy and requires tending,” the dragon chirped in return, nestling his head against Tony’s once he realized the other was more awake. “I hope you rested well. You seemed content.”

“I must have if I didn’t wake up when you became three times the size of a horse in the night. What happened to being small and manageable?”

“I cannot control the way you dream me, summoner. You seem to prefer that I am large - when I sleep I do not have control over my form. You do, as you seem to be keen on my growing, I suppose you ought to grow used to my being large for you.”

He tried to keep his mind out of the gutter. This was a dragon. A large, feathery beast… and yet he couldn’t help but chuckle at the other’s phrasing even as he tried to discard whatever imagery went with it (what did a dragon dick look like, anyway? Did dragons have dicks? Were they recognizable genitalia? What about female dragons?) as he sat up.

“Well, you have a task this morning, don’t you? You’ll have to try and be discreet. Since I didn’t hear any panic yesterday about dragons I can only assume that you’re capable of keeping yourself out of sight?”

“I seem to be able to remain unnoticed, yes. I shall do my best to… clean things up, as you requested. But please return soon. I would like to attend your classes with you,” the dragon grumbled softly, setting Tony on the bed and slowly returning to a somewhat smaller form.

“Class today is going to be about three hours at a time, so you’re going to have to deal with that. I’ll fetch you when I’m done. I do expect you to behave yourself, though. Then we’ll have some Telemancy. After today is the weekend, so we’ll have a break from classes to sort out this whole thing. I’ll see what I can learn and… well, we’ll make things work, right?”

"Mmhmm," the drake slipped out of bed, light on his feet and ruffled his feathers while fanning his wings impressively. He then got down, stretching his forepaws and sticking his butt in the air to shake off the morning sleep before immediately turning around and pacing like a lion, doing bombing runs and bumping his head into Tony's chest again while restlessly circling.

"Cute," Tony rolled his eyes, inevitably running his hand along the blue part of the dragon's mane eliciting a soft rumble from him.

"Humans do love the company and affection from creatures," the dragon stated simply.

"And you do love the reactor in my chest," Tony smirked. "I'm going to get a coffee with Bruce, do dragons need food?"

"While food is palatable, I do not require food to sustain myself as I am drawing off of _ your energy _ after all," he admitted aptly.

"Great, that's one less mouth to feed." 

Tony grabbed an outfit to change into, casual modern with a flair of his own. Dress pants, a dress shirt with a long elegant blue and white coat. He headed towards the shower and stopped to look behind him at the drake whose ears were perked curiously.

"No, this is where you stay put. I'm going to bathe."

"Not necessary summoner, I can save you time, allow me to assist," the dragon’s quills flared attentively.

"What- no, I'm fine, I like the feel of warm water against my skin, humans bathe differently than dragons," he rolled his eyes, sliding into the bathroom before his companion could get in another word.

He was out moments later, grabbing his bag. He opened the door, walking out of the room, navigating around the dragon that conveniently sat right in the center, watching him with pointed interest. He finally went out into the main sitting area to be greeted by Bruce, the dragon once again on his heels in a somewhat smaller size.

"Morning, Tony," Bruce greeted, already up and sitting on the couch, he seemed to startle when the drake followed out after like an eager house cat. "-Fluffy," Bruce added and the dragon's ears swivelled with a nod towards him.

"God, I am not used to this yet," Bruce added.

"Well, you're going to have to get used to it, ready to go grab some breakfast? I'm famished," he started combing his hair, looking at himself in the mirror as the drake sat patiently behind him, tilting his head.

"I already groomed you, summoner. Is it a ritual to groom twice in one morning?"

"You did, yes but I have a certain preference to how I like to present myself to people," Tony missed the pinned back ears as he straightened out his hair. Bruce shoved his notes into his bag and slung his pack over his back.

“Remember, if that room isn’t spotlessly cleaned of your hoard, I’m not taking you anywhere. You might wanna get on that,” he instructed the dragon, whose tail twitched in response before the Tony escorted Bruce out of the room. 

Breakfast was something they probably could have had in their apartment, but there was a certain stress that came with being around the dragon - a reminder of what a pain in the ass his life had become, and how much he had to figure out.

He only vaguely heard the dragon respond as he closed the door behind them, locking it and ignoring the long look Bruce gave him as he made his way towards the cafeteria.

“Are you two…?”

“We’re getting along fine. He’s doing better. Doing what he’s told, anyway,” Tony sighed a little bit. “I still don’t know what to do with him. How do you find out a true name?”

“It’s something you should know instinctively as his summoner,” a voice piped up cheerfully as Loki and Thor joined them, Thor smiling broadly, and Loki wearing a mischievous smile that was growing steadily more familiar.

“Well, I don’t. So are we sure I’m even the one who summoned him?” Tony inquired of the raven-haired man who had taken up walking alongside him.

“If you don’t know his name, then you’re not listening to your bond well enough,” Loki shrugged a little. “But you didn’t want to be a summoner, so you’re resisting certain awarenesses. When you stop fighting the process and start accepting it, you’ll find there’s a lot that you know that you didn’t think you did.”

“I literally let him sleep on my bed. We didn’t even argue this morning. How is that fighting the process?”

“It’s deeper than that, Stark,” Thor stated lowly, looking past Bruce to watch the engineer. “You may not be actively fighting, but you’re fighting it subconsciously. Emotionally. You’re putting up blocks in your mind that are preventing you from forming a connection to your summon.”

"I'm really trying to make this work… but I can't, I don't have enough room in my life for this... thing!" Tony grunted as they walked towards the coffee stand.

Loki seemed to recoil with the comment. "That seems a bit harsh… It's not like he's done anything but show you affection."

The engineer sighed, placing his order and stepping aside for the next patron in line. "I just can't, I need to send it back somehow, I just don't have room in my life right now. We are both worlds apart and I'd rather get him home than keep him here." 

Even Thor seemed to be a bit quieter in the group today, the two brothers passing glances like a hot-potato and then looking at Bruce who was already preoccupied with Tony.

"I hope you realize that you're in the one place on the planet where your money can't bail you out, and this isn't something money can even bail you out of anywhere buddy," Bruce started, he quickly placed his order and stepped to the side with Tony, about to start talking again before Tony retrieved his cup but stopped.

There was an awkwardness passed around the group as the orders were fulfilled and they began walking back to the apartment in uncomfortable silence, eating their breakfast on the move but once they had returned back to the apartment before class, Tony felt his own irritation flare as he thought about the mess in his room not being cleaned up, the potential of there being even more on top of what was already there.

He marched over to the room and threw the door open, to his chagrin the horde of treasure and drake were both gone, even the scratches on the walls and door along with the broken furniture had been fixed.

_ Huh. _

He walked in, looking around and the room appeared as if there had never been a dragon in here to begin with, as if nothing at all had been damaged. He exited the room and held his hands out.

"What did I tell you? Things are working out!"

“... and where pray tell is your dragon?” Loki inquired, sipping at his coffee. “Because if he isn’t here and you haven’t dismissed him to his own realm… that means there’s a dragon at large somewhere, unaccounted for.”

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough. He wanted to attend class with me,” Tony shrugged a little, though there was some slight unease in his chest at the idea. 

Still, the dragon had wanted to be close and had expressed that desire already. He was certain the creature would return. “He’s probably just putting things back where he found them, still.”

The trio exchanged uneasy looks at that, and it was the thought that held him over through the first half of Telemancy. It was only when lunch rolled around that his companion hadn’t returned -that then the uneasiness grew into worry. 

If a dragon was found wandering around somewhere and he was caught… if Tony was implicated… things could go really wrong.

He paced the apartment for nearly an hour, knowing that if he didn’t leave soon for class he’d be late, but there was no sign of the dragon. Tony took a few deep breaths to calm himself, trying to convince himself that the dragon would return. 

He spent the second half of Telemancy barely able to focus. He made up his mind that if the drake hadn’t returned by the time he got back, he’d go looking. Scrying fell under the purview of Illusions, and if he had to try and wrangle Loki to help him, then so be it.

Thankfully, by the time he returned to the apartment - in much more of a rush than he would’ve admitted to - the dragon was there. Small, as he had been the night before, laying quietly on the end of his bed.

“Where have you been?” Tony demanded of the creature and the drake’s feathers simply flattened against his head.

“Cleaning up, as you instructed.”

“I thought you were going to attend class with me, it can’t have taken you that long.”

“Did you _ want _ me to attend your class with you?” the dragon’s head turned barely enough for one of the blue eyes to lock on him, and Tony frowned.

“Not exactly, but I had no idea where you were. What if something had happened?” the dragon started to perk up, “do you know how much trouble I could have gotten into?”

The creature turned away from him again, haughtily. “What do you plan to do? Put a leash on me?”

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," Tony stepped in the room and the dragon didn't respond right away, ears completely flattened against his head, wings tucked in tightly and tail defensively curled around himself.

It simply didn't respond.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" There was another moment of silence before the small creature hopped off the bed. It walked out of Tony's bedroom, opening the locked patio door to the courtyard and leading Tony outside.

The engineer followed like a lemming, aggravated and wanting an explanation for everything. Once outside the drake grew to his full potential and it flinched as it sensed the discontent emanating off of its summoner.

"Come, I have something I need to show you." It flared its wings, peering over its shoulder as it lowered its back haunches so Tony could climb atop. 

The engineer had followed but didn't approach."Where are you going?" Tony walked forward, he didn't climb atop the dragon, simply standing at a distance.

"I've humoured your queries one after another, now you can humour mine. Climb on." The dragon's words were more commanding than they'd ever been and Tony hesitated before walking over and climbing atop the drake's back between his wings.

"Hold on to my feathers, they will not shed." The dragon spread its wings and Tony nervously grabbed a handful of feathers before it fanned out its wings, and in a moment, the drake lowered itself before springing into the air and taking flight.

"What are you doing?! People will see you!"

"No, they will not. I have put a cloaking spell on us, just as you did the first time I attended class." The engineer grabbed fistfuls of the dragon's feathers, tucking himself down low a burying his face in the drake's back as they soared through the air and through the barrier of the city.

Outside was cold, much colder, but thankfully spells kept them safe from the harsh winter and lashing of the winds. Tony was able to cast a barrier over them as they soared through the storming precipices jutting towards the heavens.

He couldn’t see anything through the snow. Everything was white, and the snow seemed to assault them from all sides outside of his barrier. If the dragon noticed or cared, he didn’t show it. Tony remained tightly against the dragon, keeping himself warm amidst feathers as they soared through the mountain range surrounding the city of Dalaar with apparent ease.

The dragon tucked in against the edge of one of the mountains after nearly fifteen minutes of silent flight with nothing but the howling gales, and soon enough they entered a cave - relatively large, and free of snow - where the drake touched down, shaking out its wings to rid them of any residual snow.

“On your feet, summoner.” The instruction was firm and Tony took less time obliging him in that than he had in mounting him to begin with. The location was oddly lit - by magic, he assumed, rather than actual fire - and the more he looked around the less he wholly understood.

“Where are we? Why are we here?”

The summon didn’t respond as he padded into the cave further and even as Tony allowed his barrier to dissipate he realized the cavern was warmer than outside by a fair margin. Warmer even than the city they’d left.

“Hey! I asked you a question-”

“And you can wait for your answer,” the dragon bit back, though as sharp as the words were there was a sense of exhaustion to the creature.

The cave proved to be a system of caves, branching off from this entrance and into the mountain and he followed as the dragon simply led him deeper, where Tony began to see the piles upon piles of riches that had been stacked and organized surprisingly neatly. Coinage was separated from jewelry, and separated by metals - gemstones separated again, and jewellery organized even further by types of gemstones. He didn’t have time to ask about it as they headed into another cavern full of unorganized treasures, though the dragon didn’t slow his steady pace.

The cavern that followed showed a deep pool, steaming with water, which the dragon settled himself into before turning to face the summoner.

There was a look of exhaustion on the dragon's face, and if it wasn't the mock-signs of madness that showed with the entirety of the cavern having its riches sorted so meticulously, than the fact that the drake's head, perched at the side of the hot spring, worn and looking near sleepless was something of an indicator.

The poor thing looked worn, exhausted, ears were pressed back and the quills were tightly concealed which Tony had come to observe as a sign of resignation in every moment that creature didn't want to fight or argue.

Tony strode over to the stones beside the hot basin and sat down next to the dragon whose head was rested down on the hot tiles. Stones in octagonal formations much unlike the topology of the city, unique in their own way and water-worn in their own artistic aesthetic surrounded them.

They sat there in silence, the beast’s head still and eyes unmoving, simply staring forward as he occupied the space beside it. 

To be frank, he thought he was being dragged out here to be killed, but that wasn't the case and he was afraid at this point to even bring that idea up given all the harsh accusations he'd already made about his companion from the start.

The cave was massive, undiscovered in its own right, untouched given the amassed gold, the heat was comforting and the moisture and heat in the air were soothing compared to the blistering cold they'd not long ago endured. The cave's roof was impossibly high and the entire affair seemed like it was something of a perfect vessel for a dragon, a haven in its own right.

Riches beyond riches, privacy away from humankind probably masked by some spell out in the middle of nowhere and all to one's self. The entire thing seemed like paradise except for one fundamental thing.

The place felt entirely lonely and secluded, and Tony chose to ignore that point as he soon spoke up after a drawn-out moment of silence.

"So this is where you've been all day? It's, cozy..."

"Mmmm," was all the dragon responded, only vaguely glancing at Tony.

"I'm assuming this is where you procured your mass of treasure from?"

There was no response the second time around and it started to sink in that this in some way might be some weird 'house-warming' rendezvous. A get together and a farewell at the same time and something about that didn't sit right with Tony.

"Formerly belonging to a dragon, you forget summoner, I have lived for hundreds of human lifetimes. Do you think a being of my age does not know human customs, the laws to exist in this world?"

Tony stayed quiet.

“You have made it clear that my existence is, to put it kindly, a hindrance to you,” the dragon mused after a long and rather uncomfortable silence. “You clearly have no sense of how to send me back to my home, but even if you did… I would continue to be a burden on your dreams. The connection is forged, I cannot simply unmake it. So I will stay here. Out of your way. Out of sight and out of mind.”

The feeling came back stronger, then, with the recognition of what the dragon was saying but the dragon spoke once more before he could finish processing his thoughts. “I will not be seen amidst the storm that blows through these peaks. I have no need to eat, and as such will remain… undiscovered. You will not have to fear being sent away or found out.”

“You’ll be alone,” Tony stated suddenly and quietly. He hated the words, and yet it sounded like a solution to the problems he’d been dealing with.

“I am already alone,” the dragon responded, his eyes closing. “What difference does it make to you?”

“... c’mon, this isn’t-”

“I was never there. I will never be there. No one else needs to know I exist at all.”

“... is this what you want?”

“I have all I could ever _ need, _ have I not? It is warm, filled with treasure, there are things to explore and a place to relax…” the dragon trailed off, before starting to get up, crawling out of the basin to allow water to trail off of his wings. “Come. Let us return you before anyone further thinks that I have done you ill.”

Tony didn't make eye-contact but he could tell the dragon's gaze was upon him, be it magic or whatever force the drake had shaken the water from its quills and stood, a shadow eclipsed by the storm at the maw of the cave as it waited for Tony to climb on it's back.

He stayed silent, there were no words he could say to remedy this, this was the remedy itself after all. Bittersweet in its own way but this was the solution to the problems and as guilty as he felt, through this, both dragon and summoner got what they wanted.

Space, a place to be oneself, warmth, a life of their own and no one would bother the other. That was what this was all about in the beginning and they would both be_ entirely _happy once they fell into their own lives again.

_ Right? _

Tony hesitated again, approaching the white and blue drake and slowly climbed onto his back. He leaned down, resting his head against the feathers as he tightly grabbed fistfuls of those quills, erecting the weather barrier around the both of them as the dragon padded off towards the exit and took off.

The flight was oddly shorter than their first, almost as if Tony didn't want it to end, like he felt a certain longing in his chest before the beast had even left him. 

They touched down in the courtyard, the same way they'd entered and Tony dismounted, a hand staying on the dragon's shoulders as he stared up at its bright blue eyes in the darkness.

"So this is it..."

"Indeed. I will no longer be a burden to you. Though, summoner know this..." Tony looked up curiously.

"Should you ever need me, and should you ever call, I will always be there for you - in a heartbeat..."

“... how can I call you? I don’t… I still don’t know your name…” Tony frowned slightly at that, but the drake didn’t respond. 

He didn’t wait for a goodbye, nor did he create a barrier around himself, and it was only when the dragon blinked out of his own vision that Tony realized the dragon had concealed himself from Tony as well - and that without a name, the dragon remained vulnerable and weakened. Tony didn’t know which part hurt most, _ or why any of it hurt at all. _

He stood in the courtyard for a long while, ignoring people who passed him by and the looks they gave him until an arm slipped around his shoulders, and he found himself being gently encouraged inside. He tore his eyes from the sky and found that they promptly settled on the stone beneath his feet instead before stone gave way to hardwood and the door behind him closed.

Bruce and Loki both sat on the couch and the look Loki gave him was unlike any he’d seen on the man’s face before, but Tony found himself too emotionally exhausted to attempt to decode it. The arm around his shoulders, as it turned out, belonged to Thor who gently guided him to the couch before digging around to get him a cold beer. 

“Is he missing?” Bruce inquired quietly as a beer was placed in Tony’s hands, but the engineer barely gave a small shake of his head.

“Then where…?”

“Tony sent him away,” Loki supplied, and Tony glanced up sharply from the cold can in his hands.

“I did no such thing,” he responded vehemently.

“No? Then where is your summon, _ summoner? _” Loki inquired as he put his feet on the table and leaned back into the couch.

"He left of his own volition, said it would be for the best. I didn't stop him," Tony looked down at the beer, afraid to look up and meet the scrutiny in the eyes of his peers.

"Did you want to?" Loki knew the answer to the question, but he had to ask.

"I… didn't. I feel guilty about it, but I just... I think it really is for the best," Tony finally lifted the can to his lips, a resounding sadness taking hold and he felt quite frankly, absolutely awful about it all. "He gets his space, I get mine, I just don't know if we'll ever see each other again.”

"I doubt that's the last we'll be seeing of him," Loki shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"What would you know about this?"

"_ Enough. _ More than you, apparently," Loki huffed, and Thor flashed him a look. 

"You know I think they just need some time apart, they had a fight, one of them will come around after they've had their space," Bruce added, timidly taking a seat on the couch next to Thor and leaning forward to look around him to Tony.

"Yeah, he did say if I ever need him, to call him and he wouldn't hesitate - thing is, I don't know his name."

“By one of them will come around, you mean what exactly? Tony, do you know how to get to him? Can you actually get to your dragon if you need him? What if something does go wrong and he’s unable to reach you?”

“Loki. Enough,” Thor stated sharply, staring his brother down as the raven-haired man leaned back into his seat, crossing an arm over his chest and sipping at his beer in clear displeasure. Loki muttered something under his breath and Tony frowned deeply.

“You’ll know his name when you need him, Tony,” Thor assured after a long moment. “The name comes to you when you’re ready. Some summons can only be summoned by name-”

“Why bother teaching him? He doesn’t want to be a summoner,” Loki pointed out briskly.

“And who’s the one who pushed him into being one anyway, again, Loki?” Bruce looked at the raven-haired man, who frowned deeply.

“I’m… sorry for him. I’m going to take my brother home now. But… just let me know if I can do anything for you, alright?” the blonde man smiled softly to Tony, grabbing Loki by the wrist as he got to his feet.

“There are consequences to magic, Stark. There will be consequences to this, regardless of our keeping your secret,” Loki stated lowly as he allowed his brother to drag him towards the door.

Bruce waited for the two brothers to leave before scooting over to Tony and putting a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"Hey, everything's going to be okay buddy, things have a way of working themselves out. It's not always easy, I know you kind of got shunted into something you didn't want to do but facing the fact, it is the consequence of your actions in the end. You can work with it, or run from it, you don’t seem the type to run from a problem, let alone have it completely take over you, you’re as stubborn as they come" the other man offered him a half-smile. “-and I mean that in a good way”

"Thanks, Bruce, I think I'm honestly just going to lay down, today has been pretty exhausting emotionally on me.”

"You do you. Let me know if you need anything."

"Yeah, sure thing," Tony took a swig of his beer but was unable to finish it, sticking it back into the fridge before he slipped back into his room and closed the door. He stripped out of his clothing, sliding under the crisp warm sheets. It wasn’t late, but he didn’t feel like doing anything else.

On his pillow, he noticed a feather - a small, short white feather probably from the dragon's chest. He plucked it off the pillow, putting it on the nightstand with a sigh, turning up to face the ceiling, wondering if his ex-companion was alright in the mountains all alone.

Turned out even though the drake was gone, _ he was inevitably thinking about him more than ever. _

* * *

There was nothing restful about the night. The black shadows chased him through the labyrinth, but he had no idea where to go, and no matter how far or how fast he ran the two unblinking eyes of a massive dragon leerd at him. He knew he couldn’t run forever, yet he made every effort to do so.

The faster he ran, the deeper he felt like he was. 

Trapped, falling further and further into the darkness. Where light had been glowing before (he was sure it had been there, hadn’t it? Light?) the deep voids continued to grow and the skeletal husks that were the remains of whatever had lived here before, clawed at him, tearing his skin, sinking into his flesh…

His skin blackened, his body felt as though it was being torn apart from the inside, and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t scream. 

And he did try.

The dragon that watched laughed.

* * *

Tony woke in a sweat.

It was well before sunrise, and a weekend no less, but he turned the lights on and immediately rubbed at his face and hair, sitting up and checking his body over to reassure himself that it was only a nightmare. 

_ He was safe. _ Nothing was going to get him. Nothing was hunting him.

His heart beat furiously in his chest and he closed his eyes for only the briefest moment before wrenching them open again in fear of the painted memories of something in the darkness that lingered behind his eyelids.

What a relief it was for the weekend to finally be here. 

There were plans to drag Bruce out for a night of drinking with Thor and a few others, and it was a little more of a relief not having to concern himself with having a dragon romping around his apartment or possibly the city.

Yeah, the dragon must have been happy by now, on his own, free to explore... but somehow Tony couldn't stop thinking, concerning himself even in the drake's absence how he was faring on his own out in the stormy peaks.

The day almost seemed to breeze by for how quick and relaxed it was, and at points, throughout the day Tony couldn't help but wonder if he was seeing things out of the corners of his eyes or perceiving _ something _ was watching him. 

There was an odd, unfamiliar sensation that something was out there, maybe the dragon he thought - but then nothing.

Even if he was, the creature seemed to want to be on his own and Tony wouldn't have been able to see him anyways. Tony's thoughts nearly saw the day through, and before he knew it he was back in his bed again, turning in for the night.

Just like the night before, he was riddled with nightmares, and this time they seemed much more graphic and real. 

He had the same dream yet again, with the same monsters, the same place - the temple under the tree with the rotten black horrors, those awful foul creatures.

That same dragon, those same red eyes and every time they tore him apart in ways that physical pain couldn't nearly describe. 

Tony woke up multiple times that night, unable to get any proper sleep, and by Sunday morning he had massive bags under his eyes and was too tired to get out of bed, and yet too fearful to fall back asleep.

By the time Monday rolled around, Tony was nearly dead on his feet, though he pushed himself to get out of bed and off to class. As disinterested in summoning as he was before, the vaguest curiosity had been stirred in him and he didn’t expect that Professor Fury took kindly to absenteeism. 

He was loaded up on coffee - as much coffee as he could properly carry to class - as he settled into his spot in the lecture hall, nursing the sweetened coffee exhaustedly.

“Up partying all weekend, Stark?” the professor’s voice gave Tony a moment’s pause as he curled his hands tightly around his mug.

“Just didn’t sleep well. Getting acclimatized, I guess…” Tony sighed, too exhausted to argue much with the headstrong professor.

“When dreams have fled, there nightmares tred, and all that’s dread is holding,” the man recited, “where dreams yet stay, chase night away, and clear away what’s molding…”

“Not sure what you’re on about there, Prof,” Tony frowned, giving him a thoroughly bewildered look.

“Sleep on it. I’m sure _i_ _ t’ll come to you _,” the professor responded as he made his way down the stairs to the dais, closing the doors of the hall to begin his lecture.

Tony squinted at the man, distracted just as soon when Bruce, Thor and Loki walked in. 

They all filed in quickly one after another and took their seats next to him.

"Ah, I see the separated spouses have yet to work through their differences." 

Tony only offered a groan and Thor had to nudge his brother to get him to stop.

Bruce only shook his head. "Another one?"

"Yeah, the same dream every night. It's like I'm trapped in my head," Tony groaned loudly, wanting to just put his head down and sleep. Maria was eyeing him curiously and with slight concern as she looked to be conversing with Fury.

Tony didn't care, he kept feeling that one familiar presence behind him, and for a moment it was if both Maria and Fury were looking at something beyond Tony, outside the windows of the lecture hall.

The brunette had managed to stay awake through the class however, and Tony seemed worse for wear, going right home to see what rest he could manage without getting sleep. 

He was forced to the state of taking intermittent power naps, an alarm going off every twenty-minutes to stop him from hitting rem sleep in case he might fall into that awful dream realm again.

The night was something he was growing to fear, and it wasn't simply because of the darkness.

By the end of the week, he could barely keep himself conscious. He needed sleep, he knew he needed it. He needed the deep refreshing reprieve of rem. But there was nothing refreshing about his dreams - his nightmares. And he knew they would come. 

Inevitably, _ they would come. _

He’d become exhausted and irritable, lashing out at Steve when the man and his friends had made a comment about whether the workload was too much for him if he was already having to pull all-nighters, lashing out at Loki for things he’d ordinarily recognize as the man’s playful nature, even lashing out at Bruce for leaving a cup out on the coffee table when the man had simply left it to use the washroom and immediately returned to it.

He wasn’t doing well. 

He was exhausted, and yet he sat out on the small deck of his and Bruce’s apartment attempting to keep himself awake and plying himself with coffee in his efforts.

He didn’t know when he drifted off, but he was startled into some form of wakefulness when Thor lifted him off the deck and carried him to his bed, tucking him in without listening to any of his protests, and despite himself the warmth and comfort of his bed dragged him once more into the realm of sleep.

The dark voracious maws of the tunnels were once again there to greet him, as expected. With all the running Tony did in his dreams he wondered if he'd somehow developed some odd mental sprinting ability.

It didn't matter. Eventually, they would catch him anyway, they always did - so why run? 

Wouldn't a quick death be better than just prolonging the inevitable?

The fact of the matter is there was no way out, and as terrified as he was, running made no sense anymore, they always caught him. 

He wanted to lay down and just give up. But even still, prolonging the inevitable or resigning himself to the creatures, the nightmare would reset and it started it all over again.

He cried - he wanted it to be over, falling on his knees in the tunnel.

"No… no, not again, just end it, end it all," he whimpered, and soon enough the creatures caught up to him, tore and ripped apart his body, rent flesh from form as he shrieked in agony, it was so painful and it felt so real.

_ The dream usually ended there. _

-but for some reason, it wasn't enough. His body was torn piece by piece and he could feel the pain despite his body being a bloody corporeal mess on the ground. The creatures picked at his flesh and he felt it as they devoured him - he still felt that and if it could be possible it was even more painful than the last.

He wanted it to be over, cried out for help, someone to come even though he knew nothing would. There was no hope here, hope was for the foolish and he was bound to go mad from all of this lack of sleep, this torture.

"Help me..."

"..."

"_Stephen. _"

Everything went dead silent and it felt like time slowed down. There was a loud boom, a flash of light and then everything felt like it was on fire, but nothing burned.

"I was wondering when you would call for me again. I have you summoner," he crooned and Tony felt whole again, wrapped in white and blue feathers and pulled from that wretched place.

When Tony awoke, however, there was no big dragon there for him, but a husk of what he'd remembered the dragon to look like. 

He'd bolted awake as if someone surfacing for air, finally gasping for their breath.

The feathered creature beside him, however, barely moved. 

As he instructed the lights to turn on, he found himself faced with a creature that looked entirely unlike the dragon he’d dreamed, and unlike the dragon he’d seen before. 

He was small - not the smallest he’d seen him in terms of his overall size, but the dragon looked half-starved, his feathers desaturated into a muted grey mess, and patches had made themselves clearly apparent in the previously thick, lush plumage.

He wasn’t sure if he should touch the other at first, especially as the dragon barely seemed to be breathing, but he found he couldn’t stop himself from pulling the frail-looking beast in against his chest. 

He received the softest of noises for that and the dragon nestled against his chest slightly, though his eyes still didn’t open.

“... what… happened to you…? How did you…” It hit him like a ton of bricks when he realized. 

The drake had stated for himself that he’d been feeding off of Tony’s energy, and he’d let him leave without questioning it. But this seemed exaggerated even for a week of starvation… surely there was more to it?

His fingers brushed through feathers as he held the drake’s head and part of his body against his chest, taking a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	5. Chapter 5

Tony took the day off, it was Friday at this point and Stephen's health was a more pressing matter than a filler course. The drake had yet to wake up from its slumber, responsive in some ways but breathing shallowly still. He figured he couldn't leave Stephen alone, it wouldn't help the poor thing's health if distance had caused this and this was all his fault, to begin with.

He found whenever he did get a response, it was when Stephen's head was propped up against his reactor, small movements and adjustments of position. While the full rich palette of colours hadn't returned to the creature's greyed out complexion, he was at least just a little more lively.

He combed his fingers through his mane, the creature filled his arms as about the size of a small child and he whispered apologies to him the entire day, piecing together what happened, why the nightmares might have stopped and coming to terms with the fact that he would have to tell Fury about Stephen eventually and risk his entire future.

"Stay with me, bud, I'm here for you… I'm sorry I was so damn selfish..." he pressed his face into Stephen's mane and closed his eyes, the feathers though worn were still soft. "I can't lose you..."

He coddled the beast in his arms, afraid to put him down as he sat there most of the day keeping him resting on his chest. It wasn't until Bruce knocked on his door that Tony realized he'd shut himself in for the entire day without making any face-time with him, and given how chaotic he'd been acting the days before his roommate was right to be worried.

"Hey Tony, are you doing alright?" Bruce asked quietly through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Bruce opened the door and looked near horrified when he saw the state Stephen was in.

"Tony, what the hell happened to him? … Did you...?"

“I didn’t- I mean, I did I…” Tony frowned deeply as he held the dragon closer. “He said he fed off of my energy… I thought maybe he could hunt or something else but… I was wrong… I must’ve been for him to be like this. He said he had everything he needed… but he never mentioned food…” the engineer felt an immense shame admitting it.

“Is he okay? What does he need?” Bruce inquired, shuffling a bit closer to watch the small dragon.

“I don’t know, Bruce,” Tony whispered in response, stroking at the dragon’s ears and feathers. “I… I dreamt him again. I was having that nightmare again and I called out to him. When I… when I woke up he was here. He has a name, and part of me is hoping that and being close will be enough but… what if it isn’t?”

Fearful eyes raised from the bundle in his arms to stare at Bruce, worriedly. “What if he’s dying? I… don’t want him to die. I wanted to… I wanted him to be happy. I’ve never had pets! I’m not… responsible enough for that kind of thing! I have fixations and I work on them but this… I don’t know how to look after another living creature… I don’t want him to die. I don’t know what to do… should… should I talk to Professor Fury?”

"Tony, I know we both know what talking to Fury would mean, it's a life - a sentient life mind you - versus whatever way you will be reprimanded in the end." Bruce ran a hand over the dragon once again.

"What do you want to do, Tony...?" Tony looked frantic, eyes bouncing between the man and the dragon as he hugged Stephen close.

"I want him to live." Stephen moved around in his arms, a twitch of his leg and then his arm.

"Then I think you know what you have to do, this could go any which way in the end," Bruce withdrew "If it makes it easier, I'll come with you, I know it can be scary..."

Tony looked up at Bruce and nodded. "Okay, then we should probably go now… I've been with him all day and there's been no change with him." Tony reached for one of the soft blankets, a baby-blue faux-fur blanket and wrapped it around the drake, carrying him with his butt in his arms and head laying on his shoulder.

They immediately rushed over to Fury's office, hoping that by some luck the professor was there and not in the lecture hall teaching an advanced class. Thankfully, he was and Tony didn't wait before he walked in with Bruce looking terrified.

"Professor Fury… I need your help with something." There was a terror in his voice as he nervously approached and Nick put down what he was doing to turn around in his desk chair to look at him.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to finally come to see me."

It took the man a long moment before he cleared the desk, gesturing to the surface of his desk as he watched Tony carefully. “Put it here.”

“You… you aren’t going to hurt him, are you?”

“Of course not,” the man looked up again sharply. “But I do need to know what condition he’s in before we can figure out the best course of action to take to help him recover.”

Tony hesitated for a long moment, before bringing the bundle of dragon closer and resting him on the desk, receiving a small whine from the creature for his troubles. “He… he prefers to be near my-”

“-That makes sense,” Fury interrupted as he gently unwrapped the feathered beast and gave a heavy sigh, beginning to examine the dragon. “There are several reasons that we don’t allow for the summoning of dragons, the most obvious of which being that dragons are incredibly powerful and incredibly intelligent beings,” he explained, and Tony simply stood quietly, watching and listening.

“They are also incredibly sensitive creatures,” he stated clearly after a brief moment, gesturing to Stephen absently. 

“Others will have a difficult time manipulating or affecting them, they’re strong and sturdy… but their summoners can dramatically affect their well-being. Their summoners can also be manipulated into making their dragons do some fairly horrendous things. Worse, dragons can become deeply attached to their summoners and become corrupted if something happens to their summoner. Without their summoner, they can be extremely dangerous.

“Yours seems to have taken a certain liking to you if his absence from you has caused him this much distress…” Fury prodded at a couple of the spots where feathers were pulled out. “Likely his anxiety and distress caused him to pull out feathers while being deprived of your presence, yet attempting to reach out and help you over a distance likely caused the draining you’re seeing here.”

Fury’s hand went over the bald patches, inspecting all of them

"The good news is, he's going to be fine, his feathers will grow back but you're going to really have to work on your parenting skills if you want this one to pull through, Stark," Fury turned to grab a pen and started searching through his desk for a sheet of paper before pulling out a form and setting it down on the desk.

"Are you going to have me expelled for this...?" Tony asked, a little dejected, dreading the type of response.

"Expelled? No, we don't expel for things like this, though we do try to warn students heavily, however, sneaking into my office and 'borrowing' my books might get you a strike on your record," Fury gave Tony a stern look. "This is a learning experience Stark, and we are a learning academy. I trust you've taken something from all of this. Now, I'm writing you an exemption for your classes this week, I'm also writing up class transfer forms. If you want to keep this dragon with you, I'm not giving you the option - you will be double majoring at best, putting the focus on my class," Fury scrawled a few more things out on the paper and handed it to Tony.

"Sign at the bottom, get yourself together and get your dragon back here in one piece or there will be  _ actual  _ consequences. The two of you need rest, I know it looks bad but in a few days his colour will be back, and in several more, the feathers will start to regrow too," he ran a hand over the drake's neck before bundling him up and handing Stephen back to Tony. The dragon immediately curled up, resting its head against the reactor.

"Yes, sir..." Tony nodded quietly without another word, he glanced at Bruce and the two left Fury's office and headed back to the apartment.

“Stark?” the brunette paused in the doorway to look back at the teacher, “remember what he’s made of. Your hopes and dreams will influence his well-being.”

“Yes, sir,” Tony responded shortly, turning away again and allowing Bruce to lead them back to the dorms.

“I can’t believe you didn’t get expelled.”

“... I just want him to be okay,” Tony stated softly, his focus on the weakened dragon in his arms. “I just want to tell him I know his name, now…”

Bruce gave a soft, not unkind laugh at that as he escorted Tony into the apartment again, closing the door behind them. “You figured it out, did you? I was getting used to Fluffy.”

“His name definitely isn’t Fluffy,” Tony sagged into the couch and held the bundle against him, feeling distinctly weak. “His name is Stephen.”

“Well, since Stephen’s feeding off of your energy, we should try and at least get some food into you, too. There shouldn’t be a cycle of you two being sick and weak,” Bruce reasoned as he dug around in the kitchen. “Any requests?”

"Comfort food? Pizza? There's some money on the side table in my room if you wouldn’t mind… Bacon and pepperoni, god I could really go for that," he sighed, running his hands through the grey feathers, smoothing them down with Stephen's ears that seemed to spring back up as his hand passed over them.

"Got it, I'll be back in twenty-ish, or however long it takes the place nearby to make it. I've never been there so I can't promise perfection," Bruce joked and grabbed his coat, heading out the door.

"Thank you so much, Bruce..."

Without even thinking he leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on the top of Stephen's snout, he could only think fond things of the creature at the moment, thinking of how he just wanted him better. The drake adjusted, rubbing his face against his chest in his sleep, letting out a small noise of content.

Bruce was back about thirty-minutes after with the pizza, Tony having dozed off quietly with Stephen on his chest, waking when he heard the rattling at the door and Bruce walking in.

The smell was delightful, and it wasn't until he smelled the food did it really hit him how utterly famished he was.

One arm was dedicated to cradling the bundle of feathers against his chest and the other was set to the task of shoving pizza in his mouth as quickly as possible. He knew he was going to regret it - he knew he was going to overeat. His stomach didn’t have enough time to process the food for him to rightly know when he was full, but he was hungry and he required sustenance.

It wasn’t until he heard a familiar voice murmuring quietly that his attention was pulled away from the pizza again.

“Summoner…?”

His eyes dropped to the exhausted and confused looking dragon in his arms, who appeared to be eyeing a piece of pepperoni that had landed on his beak. After a moment, a tongue darted out to collect up the piece of meat, and quickly it disappeared, leaving blue eyes to settle on him again as the bundle nestled against him further.

“H-hey! Hey there, Stephen!” Tony greeted with an anxious smile. “Still hungry? Want more? There’s more pizza… if you like it… you can have the rest of this one if you want?” His hand lowered to offer the remains of his pizza to the dragon, whose beak quickly snatched it from him with a low, contented croon.

Tony's one arm curled tighter around Stephen and he felt the tail that was previously slack, slowly curl around his waist as the creature started rubbing its face against Tony's chest again. 

He reached for another slice, taking another bite before offering the rest of the slice to his drake.

Stephen took it again, growing a little in size until he was just over the size of a large dog, putting a fat paw on Tony's chest and pushing him over so he could rest entirely on top of him, wings curling around him on the couch.

"Looks like food was exactly what the doctor ordered," Bruce smiled and pat Stephen on his haunch.

Tony grunted, an arm came around Stephen's neck and he shuffled himself into the pillow so he was more comfortable. His feathers flared, ears twitching happily as if he'd exponentially regained energy as Tony did.

"Please tell me I can stay, summoner… It was incredibly lonely on the mountain..." he spoke softly, finally settling down, completely sprawled over Tony. "I do not wish to go back there alone."

"Stephen, I'm sorry… I didn't know this would happen, I was so selfish - I just… I can't apologize for it enough." Tony felt guilty, some part of him shameful in Stephen's presence and both arms came around his neck to hug him tightly as he buried his face in the feathers on his neck.

"Does this mean you will allow me to stay?"

"Yes, I  _ want _ you to stay with me, please. I've already spoken to my professor, he's told me what I need to do, and you don't need to hide anymore..." Tony pulled back with a sheepish smile and he was met with a big purple dragon tongue dragging across his face.

“Y-your breath smells like pepperoni...” Tony laughed softly at that, though he didn’t push the other away, burying his fingers in Stephen’s feathers further as he held him close.

“You need to rest, I’ve been told to do the same. To take some time and get well again. Your feathers are all faded and you have… patches in your feathers that need to grow back in. We have some time off before we start classes but uh, we’re gonna cause quite a fuss when we do go to class, just so you know. Dragons aren’t allowed around, after all, and now… here you are. A dragon in this realm. You’re an anomaly…”

“I am sorry… I do not want to be a nuisance-”

“-You’re not a nuisance, and I want you to stop that thinking right now, alright? We’ve done that. I was a selfish asshole, and I’m so sorry. I’ll do better, okay? I promise. But for now just… you’re not a nuisance. You’re not a bother, or a problem, or anything like that. You’re precious and I’m so sorry I treated you so poorly… and even though I did, you still came to help me out. You still came for me… and I didn’t deserve it…”

“You are  _ my _ summoner. I told you if you called for me, I would come. And you called,” the dragon’s head nudged under Tony’s chin and rested there, and Tony rested his head atop the fluffy one in return, allowing for something like a hug - as much like one as could happen with Stephen’s appendages all bundled up in a blanket, anyway.

He felt Stephen's paws kneading into the faux-fur blanket wrapped around him, drawing the fabric in and pressing into Tony's stomach in content. Despite his size, he still hardly weighed more than a house-cat, so thankfully he wasn't being crushed under the creature's weight.

"You know what this means Bruce...?" Tony peered over to Bruce and the man gave a nod.

"Yeah, come the end of next week you're going to be moved to the summoner’s quarters. I'm going to miss having you around, and oddly enough our new friend here. At least you'll have a place all to yourself - well, you and Stephen here," Bruce ran another hand through the drake's feathers and the drake rumbled softly in return.

"I don't expect to see you any less you know, and surely you'll have some more reasons to visit, you know with Thor there," Tony smirked, his hand running through Stephen's feathers in soft idle strokes as he spoke.

"Well I'd hope not, I feel like I'm the only one who even bothers trying to talk some sense into you when you try to do crazy stupid things. Lord knows you can't put a cap on your competitive side to save your life."

"You always say such kind things," he snickered softly.

"Anyways, I've got some really early classes tomorrow, so I’m going to do some reading and then head to sleep," Bruce pointed his finger over his shoulder and Tony nodded.

"Yeah, have a good night. And... thanks again, Bruce," Tony nodded, sitting up to put Stephen down on the couch. Stephen made a noise of discontent as Tony started to put away the scraps and stick the pizza box quickly into their fridge.

Stephen eagerly waiting for him to get back, the blanket still draped over his wings, head peeking out from underneath.

"Alright, I think I could use a good night of sleep for once… The both of us really," Tony bent down to pick Stephen up, his paws went to Tony’s shoulders.

"Will I be attending classes with you from now on, summoner?"

"Yes, but not until you're better."

"I'm already feeling better," Stephen nosed into Tony's neck.

"You don't look better yet, your magic needs to return to you."

“... how long have you been having those nightmares, summoner?” the dragon asked as Tony began to carry the two of them to the bedroom.

“They started as soon as you left,” Tony sighed softly, “so I’m pretty exhausted. I haven’t been able to sleep for a while…”

“No, they’ve been plaguing you longer than that,” Stephen asserted, his head resting on Tony’s shoulder before the engineer set him down on the bed.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You were in the midst of one such nightmare when I answered your summons,” the dragon clarified, watching him as he began to undress and change into something for bed. Tony gave a small hum at that, before looking at himself and the dragon.

“Do you need a bath? Because I could use a bath, but I don’t really want to leave you on your own.” The dragon tilted his head before giving a small nod, and Tony stepped into the ensuite to start filling the tub.

“As to the nightmare… you’re right. I did have it then, too. I think I’ve had nightmares like it before, but none quite as consistent as this one. Why do you ask?”

“That dragon you dreamt… he is familiar to me,” Stephen responded softly enough that Tony barely heard him over the running water. Shuffling back out of the bathroom, he unwrapped Stephen from his blanket and held him against his chest, enjoying the feeling of soft feathers against his skin as he carried the dragon into the bathroom.

“I’m going to admit now, I figured all dragons knew each other,” Tony chuckled and received a gentle nip to his shoulder for that. “But seriously, how does a sweet creature like you know that big beast?”

“You really don’t know much about dragons, do you? Do you at least know the four primary kinds of dragons?”

“There are four? I thought… there were three.”

The dragon he held gave a low sigh. “Dare I ask what three you know?”

“Aetheric dragons, elemental dragons and corrupted dragons,” Tony recited easily, though he had the growing feeling he was missing something.

“The snake already told you that I am none of those. And to call them corrupted dragons is only half true. I am a dream dragon. I inhabit a realm that is primarily composed of dreams. Those you call corrupted dragons are nightmare dragons - dragons whose own dreams, or other realms, have corrupted their true nature.”

Tony gently set Stephen down in the warm water, the dragon's tail hung just over the lip of the bath as his head followed Tony like a tangent.

"What you saw was once a dream drake, now corrupted and misguided. His name is Dormammu, and believe it or not, he was once a close friend of mine." Tony looked at Stephen, sitting there in the chest-high water before hesitantly striping down. Stephen’s gaze seemed to fix on him as he shed his own clothing, which he tried to pay no mind to.

"So how did he end up like that - you know, how he is now?" Tony added softly, grabbing the bar of soap and starting to scrub himself down.

"He had a lover, a human lover, I do not quite remember her name but he bound himself to a human summoner, someone from this realm I believe. It was in search of answers that I found you, you who opened the doorway for me..." Stephen put a paw forward in the water before he lowered and submerged his entire body in the soothing warmth, resting his head upon Tony's chest.

"All summons, dragons or otherwise, are drawn to arcane energy. For some it can be an addiction, for others it can be comforting and therapeutic," Stephen leaned down and pressed his forehead to Tony's chest. "It's why it takes a powerful summoner to connect with a dragon, your energy is an offering - a trade of equivalency so to speak.

"Your professor understands this, and so do his summons."

"But you've never met-"

"-I have, you just have not noticed my meeting her. I have had conversations with Maria - strong-willed thunderbird she is. Summons can communicate, all of us, no matter what realm - and the elemental and dream realms are especially close." Tony furrowed his brows.

"You think Fury does not have eyes everywhere? His specialties are advanced, far more than you know. He has eyes in places you would never think," Stephen stated softly. "You simply see what he allows you to. Your academy is guarded by creatures you have never once glimpsed, things you cannot even comprehend.  _ Abominations _ not known to man. Only those who have an acute sense of awareness like myself can detect such things. And how I know this, is by their unique magical signature." Tony ran the soap over Stephen's feathers and gently rinsed the suds out.

"You have barely scratched surface my summoner, if you do not realize this, there are laws to this world - yes, and I am quite versed in them." Tony hung his head a bit ashamed.

"I'm sorry… and all this time I've treated you like you are-"

"-lesser?"

"... Yes."

Stephen laid a paw on Tony's arm, nudging against his chest. "Just be lucky that I find you so alluring - you would not get away with this with any other dragon, I assure you." There was a chortling sound that came from Stephen.

Tony rinsed his hands and began to wash his own hair, thoughtfully, watching the desaturated dragon in his lap with curiosity. There were a lot of things he clearly hadn’t known. He was certain that simply being able to use the magic was sufficient to understand things, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized how little sense that made.

Knowing how to operate a piece of technology wasn’t the same as knowing how it was built, and how the magic functioned after all - he knew that intimately. So why had he come to the conclusion that magic worked dissimilarly? He had walked into this place assuming that he knew better, that he was  _ too good _ to learn more. What was the point of going to a school if he knew everything already?

The point was that he didn’t know. Maybe he’d never known. Maybe he’d taken his innate talents for granted, and maybe Steve was right to question him for it.

“I’m an idiot,” he sighed after a long moment, finishing up with his hair before trying to figure out how to maneuver in order to rinse it with the dragon in the tub.

“Hardly. I would not have connected myself to someone who was a fool in any sense. I cannot stand incompetence,” the dragon grumbled on his chest, before peeking an eye open at him and sitting himself up. “Do you require assistance?”

“Maybe? Probably? With what exactly?”

“Your hair, summoner. Do you require assistance with your hair?”

“I don’t need you preening it if that’s what you’re asking. You probably shouldn’t ingest shampoo.”

Tony reached up and grabbed the shower nozzle and started running the tap.

"I insist, I may reach where you are incapable."

"Sure thing pepperoni breath," Tony started rinsing his hair and Stephen put a paw on his chest to try and reach before the engineer turned the showerhead on Stephen and the drake recoiled immediately in the tub with a disgruntled bray.

"HAH!" he grinned, as he watched the poor thing huddle up in the corner. Feathers being mildly waterproof, the drake shook its wings and immediately flared out to get Tony back with the same water he'd try to drench him at.

"Hey-!" he fell backwards in the tub and Stephen stepped forward, two paws on his chest, proud-as-pie as Tony looked up at him, shower nozzle dropped in the water and just his head sticking out of the sudsy water.

Stephen flared his wings proudly and Tony finally pushed up, getting back into a seated position now completely drenched.

He once again grabbed the nozzle, sprayed Stephen down like a disobedient animal and he immediately flared his wings for shelter, reaching around and smacking the nozzle out of his hand.

There was a tangle of bodies as they wrestled back and forth for the nozzle, all play now until there was a knock on the door and Bruce, in a frustratedly tired voice called to them both.

"Hey, you two mind keeping it down in there? I'm trying to sleep."

"Yeah! Sorry buddy, Stephen's just causing problems here." The dragon narrowed its eyes and there was silence between the both of them as Bruce walked back into his room and shut the door.

"This is not over by a longshot… summoner," the dragon shook his head, he got one last shot in, sticking his tongue out before he turned off the faucet.

“Aw, was I picking on the poor sick dragon? How cruel of me.”

“You are very inconsiderate,” Stephen responded with a little huff.

The dragon climbed out of the bath a little awkwardly, shaking himself out (though his paws slipped on the tiles, making the shaking less elegant than it ought to be) and sending suds and water flying everywhere before carefully preening his feathers as Tony finished up his bath. To steady himself, the dragon eventually lay down on the tiles before finally laying his head down as well, his preening cut short.

“You okay, Stephen?” Tony asked after a moment.

“I feel… lightheaded… and my limbs are weak,” the drake responded softly, his eyes closed tightly and his head twitching a little before he rubbed at his face with his paws.

“A little too much excitement for you, was it?” the summoner responded, though a hint of guilt tinged his tone. He finished up in the tub and wrapped himself in a towel before bundling the dragon up again picking him up. “Sorry, I didn’t expect you to get all playful about it. You can be really cute when you want to be, you know that?”

“We shall see how cute you find me when I am well again,” Stephen huffed softly, though his face buried itself against Tony’s chest again, the glow of his reactor painting Stephen in soft, baby blue hues.

“I’ll never forget small, cute-you, Fluffy,” Tony teased softly as he set the dragon down on his bed and finished drying himself off, before pulling on some comfortable nightwear.

He put on his silk robe, turning out the light and slowly hopping into bed next to Stephen, the creature gave a small protest as he did so, laying on his side.

"Yeah- yeah, one second," Tony mumbled softly, he reclined, putting his pillows into position before drawing Stephen in so his head was against his reactor.

"Better?" the summoner inquired, soft feathers twitching and the drake chirped in response.

"Yes, much. Thank you." Brilliant cyan eyes shut and the two slipped into a rather dreamless night. 

* * *

Stephen regained some of his size overnight, waking up just larger than Tony's body, the magus' arms draped over the dragon's reclined form. Tony was the first to open his eyes, Stephen still passed out as he gazed at the beast lying in front of him, soft chest feathers in his face, which he pressed his face into. There was a momentary thought that maybe this is what if felt like when Stephen was constantly nuzzling into his arcane reactor.

Of course, a summon as majestic and gentrified as Maria wouldn't ever consider doing that, but his own dragon? He could definitely see the appeal.

He nudged his forehead into Stephen's collarbone, taking in a soft breath, there was no scent to the creature other than the sheets he slept in which smelled like his own dwelling.

"Good morning, summoner," the dragon greeted softly, his head and neck hooking around Tony's and resting on his back.

“Good morning, Stephen. You can call me Tony you know,” he added, ever-persistent, but there was no push to his tone as he simply cuddled in against what amounted to a giant, feathered stuffed animal.

“I could,” Stephen agreed, “but you are my summoner, referring to you as such is respectful.”

“So you’d rather refer to me as a title than my name?” Tony asked amidst the feathers. “Because that feels super professional to me, and I am the last thing anyone would consider professional.”

“You would rather I was not respectful?”

“I’d rather you weren’t so formal,” the summoner responded with a chuckle, slowly starting to pull back from his comfortable spot to yawn. A hint of blue was returning to the dragon’s feathers already and Tony couldn’t help but smile at that as he ran his fingers gently through the dragon’s feathers.

“Tony, then,” Stephen tested, seeming to mull the name over in his mouth for a moment, before simply grumbling and giving a yawn. “You should eat.”

“But I’m comfortable here.”

“You will not stay comfortable if you do not provide yourself with sustenance.”

He lazily sat up, pushing himself over the dragon-hurdle in his bed, one hand on the beast's stomach as he stepped over him (somehow Stephen always ended up on the outside), while he touched down onto the hardwood floor.

"Eventually you'll have your own place to sleep when we move to the summoner's quarters." Stephen's head immediately snapped towards Tony with a mildly distressed look. "But something tells me no matter how much space you have to yourself you'll end up in my bed anyways." 

The drake twitched an ear before following and taking the duvet off the bed with him as it dragged along the floor.

He walked into the kitchen. With no plans of leaving the house today, he'd have to make-due with home-made coffee - which wasn't awful, he just preferred not to do it himself. With a mixture of basic alchemy, he brewed himself up a pot and set to work on a series of spells to get breakfast rolling.

He shed his silk gown to his waist, heading to the washroom and Stephen bolted after him before he shut the door - spry for an over-sized beast.

"What now? You want to shower with me too…?" Tony squinted.

"I would like to engage in your traditions, to further understand your kind," Stephen added and shrunk a little so he wasn't taking up too much space in the shower stall.

“Likely story. You’re just after a peek, aren’t you?” Tony teased, though recalling what the other had said the day before he had to wonder. If the dragon in his nightmares had once taken his human summoner as a lover… He hesitated a little for a moment, before shaking his head as though to rid himself of the thought.

“A peek of what?” the dragon inquired in confusion. “It is not as though you have kept me from bathing with you before, or have concerned yourself with remaining dressed in my presence. I simply am curious about your rituals. Knowing what you do will allow me to adjust to accommodate those rituals of yours.”

“Or,” Tony started, “you’re trying to get revenge on me for last night.”

“I assure you, when my vengeance comes you will not expect it,” the dragon hummed a bit, slipping into the shower stall and sitting in the cubical to wait. Tony hesitated for a long moment at that, before sighing and divesting himself of the rest of his attire. A quick wash was all he needed after a bath last night - just something to wash off the sweat of the night and freshen him up for the morning.

“What would you like to do for the day? I expect that you’re going to be too tired to want to go out much, and I was told to stay in anyway, but… if you’re going to rest most of the day, we can settle on the couch and I’ll do some reading in the meantime?”

"Well, perhaps I may be of assistance in teaching," Stephen started, fanning his quills as the water dripped down from the top of his head. His eyes squinted to avoid water getting in them and his ears twitched then pinned.

"I can see the appeal in this, though I don't quite think it necessary for myself," he added softly, walking around Tony's legs as he'd started rinsing his hair.

Showering together was a deeply intimate process, but what happened when the shower was shared with another beast? A sentient beast no less, one who could speak and that was decades - nay centuries, perhaps - more intelligent than another. Tony personally had trouble wrapping his head around their dynamic.

He had an affinity for the dragon, that was for sure, those soft quills, the fur and he knew Stephen felt the same, but it wasn't exactly any sort of sexual or amorous attraction. Though it was hard to deny what he felt when he was bathing with the beast and those feathers brushed up against his thighs.

"Tony-"

"Yeah, maybe Fury has some books for me to read up on… something more about dragons. If anyone would know anything it would be him," he mused softly, tapping his chin. He rinsed the shampoo he applied form his hair, scrubbing himself down before letting the hot water rinse away the suds and closing his eyes.

“The fact that you expect he knows more about dragons than I do is both charming and insulting,” Stephen responded with a little snort, though he didn’t seem immediately perturbed. “At least you are starting to recognize that sometimes others may know more than you think they do. Many magi know much more than they let on, and it would do you well to start recognizing that. For your own safety as much as anything else.”

“Well, he might also have answers somewhere about that dragon you mentioned, too. Dormammu?”

“Mmm, yes, and having him cease to drag you into his nightmares would be ideal… there is certainly that.”

“Then I guess that’s something to do today. That… may mean leaving the house, though, after all,” Tony hummed a bit, wrinkling his nose. Not the ideal solution. He wanted to stay in.

“Perhaps your roommate would be kind enough…?”

“Possibly. I’ll have to ask him when he comes back, he had an early class.” Tony nodded as he finished rinsing himself off and looked down at the dragon pressed against his leg, barely larger than a golden retriever. “Honestly, it’s so hard to take you seriously when you’re so small and adorable. I’m having to suppress the urge to talk to you like a cute pup.”

“I implore you to continue suppressing that urge.”

"Well, if I do that then it means I won't be picking you up, and then it means no 'chest' privileges," the brunette grinned, turning off the faucet and opening the doors to the stall and slipping outside.

Stephen let out a disgruntled whine in protest to that. "How can you be so cruel? If that is how it is going to be, then I refuse to sleep in your bed, then  _ you  _ do not get chest privileges." The dragon ruffled his feathers indignantly to try and prove a point.

"I mean, that works for me, more space in the bed." Stephen's expression immediately turned worried.

"Kidding! I wouldn't be  _ that _ cruel, Fluffy," the magus winked and Stephen flattened his ears, shaking the water from his feathers and puffing up immediately.

Tony only shook his head. "You're not making your case any better, just so you know." 

He bent down and picked the fluffed up beast, grinning and pecking his cheek out of habit before setting him back down onto the floor again.

The front door opened and Tony wrapped a towel around his waist. Assuming it was Bruce he marched out of the shower in nothing else.

Bruce had a stack of books in his hand which he set down on the table.

"Tony! I-uh, Fury wanted me to give these to you. He expected you to get through them by the end of the week or something like that." The brunette slowly walked over, Stephen following at his heel.

“... all due respect, Stephen, but you’re looking more and more like a lost puppy every time I see you,” Bruce commented with a soft chuckle, and Tony cast the dragon a victorious smile.

“That hardly due respect,” the dragon remarked, puffing up indignantly.

“Your timing is excellent, Bruce! Fluffy and I were just discussing-- ouch!” Tony fell into a chair, grasping at the toe that had been nipped in retaliation for the further indignity of the pet name. “Someone’s cranky this morning.”

“It was just a love nip, summoner,” Stephen snarked in response. “Not even enough to break the skin.”

“... it  _ hurt, _ ” Tony insisted, holding his toe with a pout.

“As my dear summoner was just saying, we were just discussing the need for him to learn how to appropriately handle a dragon - or any summon, for that matter. Since he seems to view us as  _ animals _ rather than ancient, sentient beings.”

Bruce looked between the two and rested his hand on the stack of books. “... lover’s quarrel?”

“He wishes,” Tony huffed, tossing a light pillow at the dragon and winding up surprised when it hit him in the face instead. 

The summoner sputtered.

“Oh, I really am going to miss having the two of you around,” Bruce chuckled.

Tony walked over to the stack of books on the table, picking up the topmost book. There were about four large tomes there, old and dusty but they seemed to be some sort of school curriculum as if the academy once taught a course on dragon summoning.

There was nothing about the books to denote that they ever related to any sort of grading level of curriculum, Tony could only assume that back in the day there weren't levels of study, simply specializations and that was it.

He flipped through the book 'Draconomicon' and it seemed to be a broad, spanning biography and atlas of types of dragons and summoning spells. There were a lot of different chapters, written by summoners in a more journal-style orientation.

Tony lifted the book to show Stephen and the dragon scoffed. "Basic material, but I can be your teacher. I could honestly teach you more than this book can even shed light on.”

Bruce handed Tony a paper that apparently had a list of chapters Tony needed to read. He took the sheet and looked it over, quirking a brow and holding it out in front of Stephen. The dragon's ear twitched and he peered over the sheet of paper.

"Child's play," he simply stated and Tony narrowed his eyes.

"Is it? Because the last time you said that you had some issues 'getting it up,'" Tony grinned and the dragon's ears pinned.

"Obviously because I was being throttled by the lack of name. This I can do, and I'd be happy to teach in the case that it dissolves some of your lack of knowledge."

“Well, what’ve you got?”

“Eat first, summoner. We shall begin after breakfast,” Stephen insisted as he set to work preening his feathers gently. Tony’s stomach grumbled in response to the reminder about food, and the summoner gave a little sigh at that.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“A-anyway, I have to get to class, so… you two have a good day,” Bruce waved, dismissing himself and leaving the pair to prepare for a day of learning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	6. Chapter 6

“So you mean to tell me that you’re a dream dragon, but dream dragons are an overarching category of dragons?” Tony groaned, laying on his back as he rubbed his face some.

Stephen, as it turned out, was a tough-love kind of teacher. He pushed and shoved, and didn’t leave much room for breaks. Any doubts Tony had as to his capabilities to teach Dracology were shoved to the side within the first two days of his at-home lessons and by the third day, Tony was exhausted.

“Elemental dragons break down into subcategories, why would you assume it was any different for dream dragons?” Stephen inquired staring down at him from beside the couch. 

His colours were coming back for the most part. His blues, at the very least, were vibrant once more, with hints of his red and green markings starting to return. Tony had zero hesitations about kissing the mark on his forehead the moment it showed up again and spending the time stroking and attending to that. It was the only morning they had a slow start because, as it turned out, Stephen was particularly into having that spot pet and groomed.

“Because I would’ve assumed that if dragons were already subcategorized into ‘Dream’ dragons and ‘Nightmare’ dragons that that was as subcategorized as one got… how else do you subcategorize dragons?”

Stephen gave a heavy sigh at that, seeming to roll his eyes as he padded away. “Dream dragons fall into four categories. Archdragons, prophetic dragons, illusory dragons, and enchanting dragons-”

“Wait, wait,” Tony sat up pointedly to look at him. “Enchanting dragons as in the dragons are damn pretty, or enchanting dragons as in like… artificing, charms, technomancy…?”

“They’re also rather beautiful dragons, in my opinion, but to each their own,” Stephen hummed. “Enchanting dragons are also capable of pushing their dreamers to action and inspiring them.”

"And you're an archdragon given your attitude," Tony added softly. Stephen's ears pinned flat against his head and the brunette held his arms up. "I’m kidding!"

Stephen had gotten into the habit of adopting a larger form for the sake of Tony regarding him with more respect and earnestness. He was less likely to pay attention and more likely to get distracted when he was more miniature in orientation and stature.

"You think we could take a break? You know I do have class today - the first day of class and on top of that, we're both being relocated to a new dormitory," Tony sat up, scratching at the back of his head.

"You have been doing well with your studies…” Stephen hummed. “Very well, I suppose I should leave something to the academy to teach you," the oversized dragon shrunk down once again.

"Will you be needing me to adopt a smaller form, or…?" the drakes ears swivelled a bit in curiosity.

"Well, if you’re anything like me then naturally you like a good show or presentation. Imagine the looks on everyone's faces when we are all lined up with our familiars, and then you transform into this massive dragon," Tony laughed.

"Yes, I suppose that would be pretty amusing." 

He stepped up onto the couch and curled up beside Tony, pressing his forehead to the engineer's chest. Stephen's ears perked as he gazed back at Tony who was just as soon combing his fingers through the dragon's mane.

Stephen turned his head, eyes closing as he nudged at Tony's chest as if it was some sort of catnip, letting out soft mewls and chirps that contradicted the deep rumbling baritone of his voice.

"Is there a section in there about how archdragons are like pets and are also very soft and fluffy?" Tony grinned, always drawing amusement from Stephen's ears springing back up after he'd run his hands over them.

“I am not a pet, summoner. I thought we had fully covered that. Why must you belittle me for enjoying your attentions?” Stephen huffed lowly, pulling back to give the man a serious look. “I will not seem nearly as imposing to your peers if you continue to treat me like I am some simple animal.”

“Oh relax. If you don’t want me to pet you in public I won’t. Now come back here and get your pets in before we have to go.” Tony’s arms opened up to accept the dragon’s head for a hug, and Stephen took a long moment, staring at him, before nestling his head back in against the summoner’s chest.

“If you want to just rest through classes, though, I have a sweater with a pocket near my reactor… you can probably fit if you can get small enough. I can have a pocket dragon, and it’ll be warm and cozy for you,” he offered as he continued to stroke the dragon, knowing full-well that Stephen was still recovering - better, yes, but not at his best, yet.

“I will be fine to attend, Tony. Thank you for your concern, but it is unnecessary.”

“... I’m going to wear the sweater anyway, and if you change your mind-”

“I understand,” Stephen cut him off, stretching his wings out to either side of them before getting up again. “You should prepare. I will keep myself unobtrusive until we arrive at the summoning hall and it is necessary.”

Tony nodded, running into his room to change out of his house clothes. He changed into something more semi-formal, putting the sweater on then coat and grabbing a scarf for the outdoor climate. He gathered the books Fury had loaned him and tucked them into his carrier bag, slinging it over his shoulder and double-checking to make sure he had everything for class.

Grabbing his keys, he slipped his shoes on and waited at the door, where Stephen quickly hopped down from his spot on the sofa where he'd been sitting out of Tony's way.

"Ready to go?" he grabbed his keys and Stephen folded his wings in again, padding over with a nod.

"Yes, lead the way." 

Tony opened the door and Stephen walked out first. Tony followed and locked the apartment, having to resist the urge to give Stephen another pat on the head as he'd assumed a form only as tall as his chest at head-height.

Stephen had seen the city before, but not through such an intimate point of view, so it made sense the dragon's head was constantly turning to observe the area, ears perked curiously as the two walked through the dormitories to the main campus.  Stephen had attracted some attention, people stopping and staring at him, and he would stare right back with perked interest, quills flared and ears erect, and tail lazily bobbing side to side as he stuck beside Tony.

"The humans keep looking at me funny."

"That's because they've never seen anything like you before," Tony looked down, walking through the campus doors and heading straight for the summoners hall.

"They are not as afraid as I worried they might be, given the human perception of dragons," Stephen mused softly, tucking against Tony's side and glancing between him and those around him.

"Of course not, they also don't know what you are most likely. Generally speaking, people have a specific image of what a dragon looks like and you aren't exactly what people expect. They're probably still trying to figure out what you are," Tony stated softly, reaching over to touch him gently to reassure the dragon at his side. 

As they approached the summoning hall, more creatures fell in and people stared at the feathered beast, whispering amidst themselves. People were clearly beginning to recognize the creature and a large berth was given to the two as they filed in. Thor edged in beside him with the canary on his shoulder - the first time Tony had seen his summon, but it was rather cute - showing a distinct lack of fear about the creature.

"It is good to see you," the large blonde greeted lowly, glancing down at the dragon. "I didn't expect to see you two attending so soon."

"Fury uh... had some specific words to say about how this was going to go down," Tony sighed a little, though his fingers remained curled into the dragon's feathers. "They're all going to be pissed about this, aren't they?"

"I think if your intention was to show off your skill to Rogers and his friends, the job has been done," Thor remarked as he tilted his head towards where Steve and Bucky stood, watching the feathered beast with an impassive expression.

"Great, he can finally eat his words because there's nothing more solid than living tangible proof of skill here," he winked at Steve who immediately narrowed his eyes, filing in with the other students with his dire wolf.

The little canary peeped and chirruped from Thor's shoulder and boldly fluttered down from its perch to land on the top of Stephen's head, hopping around in the feathers of his crest. Stephen tilted his head and flicked his ears, trying to look up at the tiny creature.

"What a quaint little beast, it has heart I'll give you that." Stephen opened his mouth a bit and the tiny bird seemed to settle and flatten itself in Stephen's feathers, making attempts to preen his large azure quills.

Thor made a couple attempts at trying to retrieve it but the small animal thought its summoner was simply fooling around and hopped around playing keep-away in Stephen's quills. Stephen let out a hearty chuckle when Thor sheepishly let the creature be.

"Well, it looks like someone is popular among both the humans and beasts," Tony grinned and the drake raised his head with a soft huff, puffing up his chest.

"I'm glad you could all make it," Fury finally spoke up, Maria was with him perched behind, sitting on her pedestal. "Today we will be going over Summon husbandry. Caring for and tending the bond you as a summoner have to your summon," Fury paced down the row of students to inspect each of their beasts. Some larger than others, some more powerful and intelligent looking.

"Thor, where is your summon?"

"Uh, you see sir..." he leaned over to Stephen who's ears twitched as he got close, pushing a few quills aside and the tiny yellow bird peeped, "present if that's what you wanted to know." Fury didn't say anything else and moved down the line, meanwhile, Stephen pulled away from Thor's touch.

"This is not your summon's true form," Stephen remarked softly as Fury continued his path along the line. "Your summon is much greater than it's form..."

"I know," Thor lamented softly, "but Loki trapped him as such and I do not know how to free him. Despite my years of training, I am here in a beginner class. This is not unwarranted. I know I’d be better off at Evocation, I'm a skilled evoker - especially where lightning is involved - but... Summoning is my passion. I just... Never seem able to get it right."

The dragon gave a low hum at that, leaning in against his summoner without pulling his head, and the summon atop it out of Thor's reach.

"We can study together," Tony reassured the big blonde with a smile. "We'll both figure it out as we go, and if Loki won't help with your summon, then we'll learn together and fix it ourselves, right?"

"Yes. Of course," Thor's smile broadened as he looked to the brunette. "Thank you."

"-If it's not clear to some of you, the bond between a human and their summoned familiar is very intimate. Your companions are deeply empathetic, deeply powerful and your health affects them as much as theirs effects you.

"Familiars are likewise innately drawn to arcane energy, think of it like an 'offering' so to speak. When you summon your familiar, a bridge is formed where that summon may travel to and from their home realm at their leisure if the bond is strong," Fury stopped, addressing each of the students with his lecture before focusing his gaze on Tony as he spoke.

"Like it or not, you cannot undo this, summoning takes dedication, time, care and passion. None of you are here today because you weren't entirely dedicated to your skillset." Tony winced, wanting to shrink back with that comment, knowing full well that there was a part of that specifically aimed at his own misdeeds.

Stephen lightly pressed into his side, ears flicking, though he didn't turn his head to look at Tony.

"Cultivating a close empathetic relationship with your familiar is the key to working and living in harmony with them. After all, they are part of you, and to reject any part of that would mean rejecting your own fundamental beliefs and goals. What you put out into the realm when you summon, is an extension of yourself, like attracts like," Fury stated.

"Today will be less of a lesson as you will all be relocating into new dormitories to accommodate your familiars. I also have an assignment for all of you, think of it like doing a little soul-searching. Get to know your familiar and all of its capabilities as well as you would know your own talents. Next class, I expect to see a demonstration of this."

Tony heard Thor cuss softly beside him and couldn’t help but grin a little, reaching to pat the man’s arm reassuringly. It didn’t take long for them to all receive their room listings, though Tony found himself separated from the others as Fury himself led him to a rather large, sealed door. Where everyone else had walked past here, Tony stared between the professor and the door as the man went through a series of gestures.

“The dormitories for dragons and their summoners has been sealed for more than a century,” Fury explained. “It will take you time to clear it out and personalize your own space, and you will at first find it rather less modern than other locations. You’re smart, though. I’m sure you’ll figure out how to modernize it on your own,” he quipped.

Stephen was the first to step inside the expansive apartment, it was old, dusty and worn. The place would need considerable cleaning and a real upgrade in technology. Bulbs needed to be replaced and fixed and it almost seemed like the half of the apartment meant for Stephen was larger than Tony's.

"I can work with this..." Tony looked around, his first thought would be that the f _ urniture would have to go. _

"Good. Technomancy was your second major was it? I'm sure you could find a way to innovate and make this place unique. You're free to do what you want with the place as long as the intent is to improve it. Now, remember your assignment, you have the rest of the week to do both that and get your house in order." Fury turned to flash the two a knowing smirk after he handed Tony the keys before taking off.

Tony shook his head, closing the door after Fury had left.

"Well, it looks like all this space is going to waste because knowing you, we'll be bunk-buddies," Stephen's ear flicked and he padded around the place.

"I have an entire horde to transport, I will make good use of the space," the dragon nodded, already formulating how he was going to set the place up based on how intently he was milling about the room.

"Nice thing about this place is you don't need to shrink yourself anymore," before Tony had even finished speaking Stephen had grown to his normal size which was quite large - larger than Tony remembered.

The dragon took a long moment to look around before turning to look at Tony curiously. “You are not protesting to my bringing my hoard here…?” The dragon’s ears canted oddly in uncertainty, and Tony gave him a little shrug. 

“If I’m not tripping over it I don’t really have a reason to care, do I?”

“... I see. Very well,” the dragon hummed in acknowledgement, making his way around the space to find things. A loud splash from somewhere within the quarters signalled to the summoner that Stephen had found some sort of bath, though he cringed at the idea that the dragon had hopped into a tub full of water that had simply been sitting for a century or so.

“... Stephen, what are you covered in?”

“Warm water,” the dragon responded, his voice echoing through the chambers and leading Tony through to the room the dragon had taken on. When he arrived he was surprised to find the room glowing softly and the water clean. The whole room, in fact, was oddly clean. There was no must, no dust, no cobwebs... 

“How did this room manage to not wind up looking like the rest?”

Stephen gave him an odd look at that. “I cleaned it.”

“You’ve… been here not even a whole minute, how did you-”

“Magic, summoner. Prestidigitation on a level such as this is very simple. Did you expect that I would be unable to manage such a feat?”

Tony stared at the feathered beast for a full minute as he processed that statement. 

To have done what Stephen had done - including the lighting, and cleansing and warming the water - was far beyond simple prestidigitation. It would have taken even a reasonably dedicated magus nearly half an hour. And Stephen had done it in less than a minute.

Tony could only shake his head.

"Anyways, I think I'm a little jealous that you ended up getting more space, but as I said, this place is just as much yours as it is mine, so do as you wish however you want," he nodded, kneeling down near the edge of the basin with a smirk.

"I'm going to start moving things over from the apartment, I may be a little while." Stephen's ears perked, his tail draped along the side of the basin.

"I will be right here," Stephen murmured softly as if he was in heaven, laying his head down on the tiled floor. Tony could only imagine after what the drake had been through, being able to spread his wings in his true form must have been a relief. Maintaining a smaller form required magic at work constantly, and with Stephen still recovering it was a welcomed change for the poor exhausted drake who needed to simply take time to himself.

The engineer gently ran his palm over the mark on Stephen's forehead and the drake closed its eyes enjoying the gentle pat on the head. He walked to the human side of the quarters, smaller but still much larger than his last place. He found a spot in the middle of the room, holding out a hand and conjuring a portal like the one similar to the pocket dimension he'd conjured just the other day.

Tony kept the gateway open and began to move things from his old dormitory through the wormhole. It took a few hours of walking back and forth, but by the time he'd finished, he closed the portal and walked around to check on Stephen. When he turned the corner he was more than a little surprised to see his companion's part of the ward completely lavish with silks, gold and furniture.

Of course, Stephen had no sense of interior design - it was mostly just fancy chairs and hanging cloth, pillows, blankets and then piles of gold, gems, whatever he'd hoarded back in that mountain. It was all here - littered over the floor in one of the sub-rooms as if the place was specifically designed for a dragon horde - and Stephen lay, large as life, in the center of it all nearly half asleep.

"Now there's no mistaking it," he grinned, walking over to him, picking up one of the sheets and tossing it over his body, bundling him up. "You officially look like an actual dragon." 

Stephen's tail flicked, some coins shooting off as the feathers landed. "As opposed to what my summoner?" he hummed, barely cracking an eye.

“A giant, beautiful bird?” Tony chuckled softly, watching the creature roll his eye before closing it again.

“Feathers alone do not make me a bird. You remain limited in what you expect dragons to look like. I imagine your expectations would have me look more like this…?”

His feathers changed then, shortening and hardening until the dragon appeared scaled, his colouration remaining the same even as his body began to look smaller for the lack of fluff. His ears shifted before disappearing, and his beak became more of a muzzle before he peered at his summoner with a more snake-like eye than before.

That… was definitely more like a dragon as he was familiar with them. “... yup. That’s… definitely a dragon.”

With that, Stephen’s whole body shuddered a bit and he seemed to shake out the illusion into feathers again as his beak opened for him to give a yawn. “Unimaginative. You dreamed me this way, summoner, I would have expected you to be more accepting of this form. Of course, there are many forms I am capable of taking.”

“Well, don’t go playing around with them right now, okay? You’re still not fully recovered, and I don’t want you to risk anything by overusing your magic unnecessarily,” Tony instructed and despite the dragon’s eyes closing, his ears perked up to listen to him.

Tony shook his head and grabbed his coat again. "I'll be back soon, I was thinking of pizza again." He gave Stephen one glance behind him before slipping out of his quarters. He returned thirty minutes later with a large pizza setting it on the table.

To his surprise, when he'd returned the rest of the apartment had been made up as nicely as his old place had been, the bed, however, had been widened some, likely accommodations Stephen made at his own discretion.

Stephen had also since migrated from the horde of gold to said bed and Tony couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, did you do all of this?" he walked around and opened his drawers, seeing all of his thing shad been intimately tucked away, and the dust had even been removed.

"As opposed to the magical cleaning mice that tend to your house when you disappear?" Tony shook his head and walked over with that smartass comment.

"This was… generous of you, you really should preserve your energy though." Tony sat down on the side of the bed, leaning into Stephen's side and the drake flared ihiss quills subtly.

"Yes well, I had nothing better to do when you disappeared," Stephen let out a breath.

"Awww, how cute, you missed me!" Tony teased, running his hand over Stephen's head, he lifted it and peered over at him.

"You know, a thank you is customary in this situation by human standards, if I am not mistaken." 

Tony grinned sheepishly. "Right, thank you. This was very considerate, this would have taken me-”

"-Weeks, yes I know, my power has not been as depleted as you so seem to think, my quills are not a mood light and my physical appearance does not denote my state right now. After tomorrow I will be prepared to use magic freely again." Without saying anything he pressed his forehead to Tony's chest, in his full size the dragons head was about the same size as his torso, and he backed Tony up into the side of his curled up form.

Tony's arms went around his jaw and his back hit a wall of feathers and fat from Stephen's stomach, softer than any cushion or pillow. He ran his fingers through the short feathers under his jaw and lightly scratched at the fluff on his cheeks. "Noted, then perhaps you'd like to come to class with me tomorrow if you're in better health?"

"I would love to." Stephen's eyes closed somewhat and he nudged the center of Tony's chest.

“You’re being very cuddly, but I am very hungry,” Tony chuckled a bit at the dragon’s antics. “I bought a whole pizza. I won’t be able to eat it all on my own - are you interested in having some? You sure seemed to enjoy it last time.”

“I do not require the nutrition the same way that you do,” Stephen hummed at that, cuddling around Tony briefly before heaving a dramatic sigh and releasing him. “However, it is probably best that you do eat.”

With a little rumble, the dragon released him again and Tony laughed softly, rubbing at the dragon’s mark before slipping out of bed and making his way towards where he’d left the pizza. “Does that mean you don’t want any…?”

“I did not say that,” Stephen responded quietly, padding after him and resting his head on the table, a long tongue sneaking out the moment Tony opened the pizza box to steal a piece of the pizza for himself.

“... just make sure you chew that before you swallow it! Sheesh. And these three pieces with your drool on them are all yours, too,” Tony separated them off with a shake of his head. “Your table manners could use a lot of refining.”

Other than Stephen’s initial licking the pizza incident, dinner passed easily enough and the two spent very little time settling down and getting ready to sleep after. Stephen was swiftly soothed to sleep by Tony’s consistent petting, and Tony didn’t know when he dozed off himself.

Considering how fluffy Stephen was it was a wonder that the dragon didn't shed even his stomach feathers when they shared space, Tony wondered about that, assuming it had something to do with him being a dream dragon or simply that the feathers doubled as scales and only shed when a new one was ready to grow in its place.

* * *

Tony woke up the next morning, an empty bed and a pillow under his head. There was a faux fur blanket pulled up over his shoulders that he didn't remember procuring before passing out and there was the smell of coffee filling the dorm. There was a breeze in the massive hollow chamber and Tony sat up, wondering where in their sanctuary that Stephen could have gotten to.

Tony got up, dragging the blanket along behind him, he entered the kitchen and froze in his tracks as someone was standing at the counter,  _ naked _ . Dark hair with silver streaks from what he could make out from behind and he started to panic, wondering what he could have gotten into when he fell asleep last night that resulted in a buck-naked man in his kitchen.

"Umm," he started, and Stephen looked over his shoulder towards Tony revealing his fully  _ nude front _ , "how did you get in here...?"

"Oh, good morning summoner! I took the liberty of preparing your favourite morning beverage!" He walked over to Tony and the brunette had to avert his gaze, busy mentally trying to get over the drake being naked in a human body.

"Stephen?!" he inquired rather surprised and the dragon seemed confused why his summoner didn't recognize him. And then he seemed to realize shortly after.

"Ah, yes, the new skin! I hope it is to your liking, I tried to mimic your look but put my own touch on it," Tony's face was flushed and he took the cup as his familiar handed it to him.

"Summoner?" he tilted his head and Tony finally looked at him.

"It’s umm… nice but humans, we tend to have our genitals down there, and we generally keep them covered..." he trailed off, unable to keep his gaze from the drake's nude form, mentally kicking himself for finding his familiar attractive.

“It is covered,” Stephen reasoned, “thus why you cannot see it.”

Tony wasn’t entirely certain what that was supposed to mean, as he rubbed at his face with a free hand and sipped his coffee. It was far too early in the morning to try and make sense of his summon’s antics, and yet there were a lot of things he had to sort out before they could leave the apartment like this. The other’s form was certainly more practical for getting around and attending classes, though they’d cause no less of a stir if Stephen wandered around naked.

“That’s… not the same kind of covered I’m talking about,” Tony responded tentatively, not sure he wanted to ask what the dragon meant by ‘covered’ in this case. It was too early for this. Way too early. “We need to get you some clothes, I suppose. I imagine you can’t just summon something up for that? Magic yourself some clothes?”

“But I am already warm enough… if I needed more layers…” Stephen started, before huffing softly. 

The air around the dragon seemed to twinkle some and soon enough he wore a long, rich blue silken robe. It might have looked more like a housecoat than anything if it hadn’t seemed reasonably thick and been layered beneath other intricately patterned layers. A golden scarf of some sort settled over his shoulders, draping over his front with inscribed talismans of some sort - Tony wasn’t proficient enough with charms to figure them out - and soon a long red cloak made its way from another room to settle around his shoulders, its collar upright and giving the man a rather regal look. A dramatic change from before.

“Is this more acceptable?”

Tony let out a deep breath, his face still flushed from surprise and, well,  _ other things _ .

"Actually, yes, that's perfect. This way you won't draw attention to yourself, no one will even shoot you a second glance." Tony took a step forward and walked around Stephen to get a good look at him.

Stephen furrowed his brows, watching the summoner with his brilliant blue eyes. He tracked Tony as he did his little walk around, speaking up only moments later.

"Summoner-"

" _ Tony. _ Call me summoner all you wish when you are in your draconic form but it might also come off weird if you keep referring to me like that in public. Humans refer to each other by their first name, unless referring to a higher authority where we use their surname," Tony crossed his arms, peering back at Stephen.

"-Tony," he corrected, "your cheeks are flushed, are you coming down with a cold? Shall I attend in your stead?" Stephen tilted his head and the engineer immediately shook his head.

"I'm fine! I'm fine... just, don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Stephen walked into Tony's space, a hand on the top of his head as he checked his temperature.

"Yes, trust me!” Tony pulled away, lightly snatching up Stephen's hand and for a moment he eyed the scars, more pronounced than ever. The dragon quickly withdrew, though not before Tony noticed that his hands shook slightly in this human form.

"Alright, I guess we should go then. I would like pets before we go." 

Tony frowned with the demand, reaching up to pet Stephen on the head but stopping, it felt very weird. Instead, he took a step closer and wrapped his arms around Stephen's midsection, and the dragon's arms found their way around his, squeezing him and holding the hug longer than he would have expected, tucking his chin over Tony's shoulder.

The cloak the summon wore curled around Tony as well, entirely encasing him much as Stephen’s wings might have if he were in his fully draconic form. It was warm and comforting, and Stephen gave a soft noise of contentment at that, leaving Tony to smile a bit, closing his eyes to indulge in the hug for a long moment.

“If we stay like this too long we’ll be late,” the summoner sighed softly, though he didn’t make any efforts to pull away.

“You also need to dress,” Stephen hummed softly. “But I assure you we will not be late. I will make certain. Once you are ready, let us make our way to classes, shall we?”

The cloak and the dragon both released the smaller summoner and Tony eventually released Stephen as well with a brief nod. “Yes… of course. I’ll just… do that,” he scooted away to finish his coffee and make himself presentable.

He gathered his books into a bag and slung it over his shoulder, toeing into a pair of shoes before approaching the dragon again, pausing for a long moment when Stephen smiled warmly at him, holding out a hand to offer a small ring. “For you,” the dragon-in-human-form insisted.

“I don’t need-” Tony started, and at Stephen’s crestfallen expression, he cut himself off. “Thank you, Stephen,” he amended, offering a hand to take the ring from him before carefully slipping it onto his index finger.

The ring was surprisingly a perfect fit, and Tony eyed it curiously. A simple gold band, nothing more, nothing less. Perfect for his aesthetic considering he liked to keep things rather simplistic.

"It's beautiful," he smiled and Stephen almost seemed to be over the moon with that small admission. 

Tony had all the questions in the world for Stephen, like what was around his neck, what was this floating red cloak, how did his  _ hidden _ genitalia work, and the list went on. Given the beast was a manifestation of his dreams, however, he tried not to sit too hard on those thoughts. Magic as a whole was something of its own beast, so it only made sense that things were the way they were with Stephen.

Stephen opened the door for Tony, and the summoner walked through, he locked up the quarters before heading towards the telemancy class, not before being intercepted by Loki, Thor and Bruce.

"I like the new look, it suits you," was the first thing out of Loki's mouth when he saw Stephen, going to put his arm around the dragon's shoulder.

Stephen shrugged it off and moved closer to Tony, and Thor and Bruce just both looked confused.

"Hey Tony, who's the new friend? Did you already meet a boyfriend in that summoning class of yours?"

"Yes," was all Stephen responded with and Tony looked between Stephen and the rest and furiously shook his head.

"-What? No! It's just Stephen in a humanoid disguise!" 

Loki cackled furiously.

"Am I not your friend Tony?" Stephen looked taken aback by the mention.

“No it’s- Stephen it’s not that!” Tony insisted quickly, casting Loki a dark look before he reached to take Stephen’s hand, finding it swiftly moved out of his reach and wincing. “Stephen, a boyfriend is… not simply a male who is a friend. It’s a… it’s a romantic relationship.”

Stephen gave him a long look at that and simply hummed, tucking his hands away behind his back nevertheless. Loki grinned widely at the two of them before Thor seemed to wholly understand. “Your summon is capable of shapeshifting on his own?” he inquired, and Bruce gave a knowing hum.

“Oh! Dream dragons are natural shapeshifters, I’d entirely forgotten! This is definitely a much less attention-getting look… uh, in its own way,” Bruce added.

Loki’s grin widened. “Whatever do you mean? The ladies are going to be all over him, look at him!”

“What? No, it's not like Stephen is going to be out in public like this  _ all _ the time," Tony looked to Stephen who looked a little crestfallen. The man was no good at hiding his emotions even in human form and it broke Tony's heart to see that.

The engineer ran his hand down his face, he settled for walking ahead rather than staying with the pack and it took a moment for Stephen to decide before he followed after.

"That makes a lot more sense now," Bruce looked between the two. 

Loki pushed ahead, taking the opportunity to sidle up to him and at that moment Stephen sped up just as fast to cut the other raven-haired man off at the pass, standing in between the both of them.

"Clearly, he is quite skilled, I'm rather impressed!" Thor eyed his human form up.

Tony had no idea what was going on, but at least this time Stephen didn't flinch away when he took the man's hand, leading him over to their next class without much more fuss. 

Stephen was acting weird, Loki was being a jackass, and Thor and Bruce simply had no concept of what was going on, at least as far as Tony could tell.

They all made it to the lecture hall with a couple of minutes to spare, and even still Selvig was one of those professors who wasn't always on time, five minutes late in fact to top it all off.

Stephen flashed Loki a foul look trying to block him from Tony as if his presence alone would deter the other magus. All in all, he wasn’t the most effective. Stephen was uncharacteristically quiet through the majority of the lecture, speaking when he was spoken to and otherwise keeping quiet and to himself.

When he wasn’t making pointed efforts to keep Loki clear of Tony, he seemed to curl into himself, his shoulders rolled forward, and his knees up in awkward positions in his seat. The cloak that he wore curled around him at times, leaving him mostly covered in the red fabric a lot of the time - which was honestly quite off putting when he was attempting to reconcile this appearance with the large, predominantly blue dragon.

The professor of the class didn’t seem to recognize that Stephen wasn’t a student, occasionally asking him questions amidst others he directed at the class and looking perfectly pleased each time Stephen seemed to answer correctly.

“You know a fair bit about telemancy, huh?” Tony inquired as class ended in an effort to pull Stephen out of the funk he’d fallen into, and the dragon simply shrugged a shoulder.

“Should I not know how to navigate the pathways between worlds?” he responded quietly, though it didn’t seem to do much to pull him out of things as he stood from his seat, casting Loki an unpleasant look before Tony started to lead them out towards the lunch hall.

“I… I guess I just thought it might be different between planes of existence.”

“It is,” the dragon answered simply, and Tony frowned a little.

“... are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

“Oh, isn’t it obvious, Stark?” Loki slid up to him with a casual lack of care about the way Stephen prickled up. “He’s possessive. He wants to keep you all to himself,” the raven-haired man chimed, grinning in the face of Stephen’s growl. “Dragons are like that, you know. They don’t share well with others. Their gold is not all that’s their hoard - people are, too. See for yourself, he marked you with a ring already.”

“I was simply expressing my gratitude to my summoner-”

“Of course you were, dear,” Loki smirked.

Stephen bristled immediately, he marched towards Loki who had a shit-eating-grin on his face before Tony intervened a moment later and put himself in the line of fire.

"Stephen." He supplied a challenging look and the dragon glared over his shoulder before turning away. Tony grabbed his hand and the dragon flinched at the gesture as he pulled him away from the crowd of people finding somewhere discreet.

"What's gotten into you?" he started, leading them into side hallway toward the washroom facilities.

"That friend of yours," he stated aptly narrowing his eyes to the edge of the hallway.

"Not just that, you've been in a funk since we got here, spill," Tony stated, looking earnestly at Stephen. He only looked back at him, a hand gently on his shoulder that trailed up to Tony's cheek before withdrawing.

"Nothing, summoner. You need not worry." Tony furrowed his brows. 

“ _ Tony, _ remember?” He reached out for Stephen's hand, trying to bring the drake back in. "Don't let him get to you, Loki can be a handful but he's just troubled." Stephen looked confused for a moment and let out a sigh.

"There is more than what simply meets the eye, my summoner," he responded, leaving the hallway but taking Tony with him, grasping his hand.

"Stephen..." Tony sighed as the drake pulled him right past his friends, though he made no attempts to discourage him.

“You should eat your midday meal, summoner,” the dragon stated lowly, before making an attempt to withdraw his hand, glancing briefly at the man who held it firmly with no intentions of letting go. “Your classes will resume shortly and you require sustenance.”

“Are you really not going to tell me what’s going on? How can I help you if you don’t?”

“There is nothing to help with. I am simply tired,” Stephen responded as he found the cafeteria and hesitated outside of it, giving the others enough time to catch up. “... I think, perhaps, I shall return to our quarters and rest. I may have overestimated my wellness.”

“Shit, is something wrong?” Tony jerked up immediately, his free hand moving to Stephen’s forehead for a moment. “I… I can’t tell when you’re in this form. You shouldn’t be using magic like this so soon if it’s draining you!”

“... my apologies,” the dragon responded lowly, though his eyes focused over Tony’s shoulder and their narrowing told him well enough who he was looking at. “I will take care of myself for the duration of your class.”

“Mmm, yes, you should definitely rest,  _ Stephen _ ,” Loki chimed from behind him. “I’ll take good care of your summoner in the meantime.”

The hand around his clenched for a moment before the dragon gave a low hiss of pain and loosened his hold, finally managing to slip his hand free of Tony’s. “Do not touch him,” he growled at Loki regardless.

“It’s his body. He’s the one who gets to choose who can and cannot do that, isn’t he? Or do you want to deny your summoner his free will?”

"Okay, what the hell guys?" Tony frowned at the both of them, the red cloak around Stephen's shoulders taking up residence around Tony's shoulder's again and squeezing him. In a moment Stephen blinked away and Tony was left completely speechless.

He had no idea what was going on with his summon and on top of that Loki was definitely not helping the problem.

"Loki, what the hell?!" Tony didn't mind the red cloak as he turned to face the raven-haired man with a testing look.

"What?! It's not my fault your summon has such a short fuse."

"No, but you're not helping by antagonizing him, he's not well and you're not making things any easier on him." Loki went to put an arm around Tony's shoulder and the cloak immediately slapped it off and moved him away.

Tony sighed, not in the mood to argue with either a sentient cloak or Loki.

"If you know so much about dragons then why do you keep antagonizing him?" Tony frowned, and Loki simply shrugged.

"Because it's fun," Loki grinned.

"Maybe for you, but not for me. Maybe when you are the one having to put out fires then you won't be so coy." Tony frowned and let out a deep breath, heading over to the other lecture hall which was a building over, thankfully, Loki didn't share the same classes as him. The cloak shuddered around his shoulders softly and at that moment he hoped Stephen was okay.

The class went by rather quickly, he shared it with Thor who was mostly quiet and concentrated through it. One of the shared elective courses that were mandatory in the curriculum but once the class has finished, Tony rushed right home, oddly feeling lighter in his stride with the cloak attached to his shoulders.

When he returned to the quarters, he expected to find a large dragon sleeping on a pile of treasure - that wasn’t what he found. In fact, it took him a while to find Stephen at all. The dragon, it seemed, had never reverted to his draconic form despite his comments about being exhausted. He lay hidden behind some of the draping fabrics, staring through a window into the snow beyond.

“Stephen?” he called softly, tugging aside some of the cloth to check on the human-shaped form. Stephen didn’t move but gave a soft sigh.

“Yes, summoner?”

“It’s…” Tony trailed off after a moment, “... are you ever going to call me Tony?” 

The dragon didn’t respond, though his fingers fidgeted with some jewelry he’d apparently adorned himself with. He looked beautiful all covered in silver but in the way that sad women in paintings looked beautiful. 

Tony didn’t like it.

“Are you mad at me?” he tried again, and Stephen finally rolled his head to one side to look at him.

“Why would I be angry with you?”

“I don’t know. It’s my next question if you’re angry with me…”

“I am not angry with you,” Stephen responded, looking away again. “How was your class?”

“Well, you’ll be happy to hear it was utterly Loki-less. Are you gonna tell me what’s going on with the two of you?”

“I am certain you will figure it out in your own time. You are smart enough.”

Tony pushed the fabric aside and took a seat next to Stephen, shoulder-to-shoulder with the drake.

"I don't… really understand, and I'm sorry. But, listen… I'm not a mind reader, and I'm sorry if something happened, but there's only so much I can do for you without you telling me," the engineer spoke softly.

Stephen didn't bother making eye-contact with Tony and he simply shrugged, eyeing Tony for only a brief second to see that the cloak was still around his shoulders.

Tony expected a response but none came and Stephen kept to himself.

"Selvig talked about some pretty interesting things today..." Tony started in attempts to initiate a conversation with the crestfallen drake.

"He was talking about Centralia… the shattered forest, showed us some slides today about the place and I honestly can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with my dreams," Tony paused and it seemed as if Stephen seemed to grow tense for a moment.

"I've had this haunting nightmare, and I can't wave the imagery in my head since. I get this feeling like it all relates - the visuals are way too similar. It's like this morbid curiosity I can't seem to shake."

"You should know the shattered forest is no place for you, Tony. It is not safe for humans and dragons alike," he stated. There was a pregnant silence between them and Tony rubbed his own arms, looking to the side.

"I want to learn more about it, it's a part of the world's history, and for a while, it was plaguing me."

“Learn about it, then. But stay far away from it,” Stephen instructed plainly. “Even your dreams… just… it is no place for you. It is no place for anyone. It is death and decay, loss and emptiness…” The dragon’s brows knit together. “I have been doing everything in my power to keep its fingers away from you, do not reach out to it or you invite it in.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What do you mean keeping its fingers away from me?” Tony frowned in return, looking at the man straight on. Blue eyes fixed on the window again.

“You are a smart man, Tony. Think about it. What do I mean by keeping its fingers away from you?”

“You’re implying that the shattered forest is alive,” Tony frowned still deeper, staring at the dragon in uncertainty. “You're implying it’s… sentient in some way, that it has thoughts, feelings, motivations…?”

“Go further,” Stephen responded, not dismissing any of his words, simply encouraging him to dig deeper.

“Even if it’s alive, what is it…?” Tony rubbed at his face, leaning his chin on Stephen’s shoulder and receiving a slightly startled look in response before the dragon’s head tilted to rest on his head in return.

“You said yourself that you dreamed them…”

“Them? You mean to tell me the shattered forest is more than just one thing? You said ‘it’s’! That sounds like one thing!”

“It may be one thing. It may be many. It is hard to explain, really. But take your time with it, think on it. I will teach you as much as I know, but… promise me you will not go there.” The dragon’s voice was low and serious, and Tony shifted to look at him.

“Which idea do you hate more? Me going there, or my friendship with Loki?”

“One of these things will kill you. The other is simply a liar, and not what he claims to be.”

“Are you ever going to tell me about him?”

“You will figure that out on your own as well.”

“You seem to think I’m going to figure a lot of things out on my own,” Tony sighed, sitting up a little, and Stephen looked at him with an odd smile.

“I do. I have faith in you, Tony.”

"I keep hearing that from you," Tony started, frowning. "You and every one of my teachers as if they are all in on some cryptic game here. There are answers out there, and I want them and I'm not going to stop until I get them whether it's with or without your help," Tony sighed, and stood up, pulling away from Stephen and walking back over to his bed.

First, his dragon starts acting like there's a problem, won't tell him what the problem is, and then now this. Everything seemed to be some sort of perplexing riddle lately, and it was driving him nuts. He still didn't understand what Stephen meant with Loki, but perhaps Loki would be the one person who he could talk to to get answers about the things he wanted to know, and he might get some more information talking to Selvig as well.

He sighed and took a seat on the couch, grabbing one of his text-books and opening it up to the pages that covered the shattered forest. The information provided in his texts were limited at best, it only supplied a general knowledge, nothing in the depth of what actually lay underneath it.

Sure, he knew there was a temple, but there was more than that and he could feel it in his very being. A haunting curiosity that he couldn't shake and an irresistible drive to learn more about it like he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. 

After some heavy reading, Tony yawned and put the text down, leaning back on the couch to put his feet up. He had had half a mind to check the library, surely there would be more.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and it hit him then just how tired he really was as he started to doze off for a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	7. Chapter 7

Tony walked among the trees, their brilliant crystal glow shimmering under the touch. He was back there again, but he knew better than to venture below. He opted to stay above ground, staring at the massive tree that housed nights upon nights of recurring terror and calamity.

The ground was sundered and split with veins of raw arcane energy, bleeding out of the earth like an oozing open sore. These large fissures never seemed to relent, the energy it emitted bursting through and showing decades of environmental weathering.

There was a steady heartbeat in his ears as he walked through the trees as he touched the glowing crystal trees and felt the soft pulse under his hand.

The earth beneath his feet was a brilliant purple, and the sky was violet and black, particles of arcane dust blew through the air like pollen on the wind and if this place had not been ground zero for one of the greatest calamities in history, then it may have been something he could consider beautiful in its own horrific way.

Something moved behind him, and he felt it rather than heard or saw something within the tree, and as he continued to stare in its direction, a creeping dread started to fall over the atmosphere, the air thinning out and only moments later a black tar substance bubbled at its base and those macabre creatures from the underground began to surface as if attracted to his very essence.

It felt for a moment like there was some sort of gravitational pull on him, something irresistible he couldn't deny. As much as he wanted to turn and run, this time however, his body denied him and began to head back towards the tree.

He was terrified, but he couldn't help himself. Beady red eyes could be seen in the amalgamation of forms that erupted forth and person-like as they clawed their way towards him.

He couldn't speak, couldn’t stop himself, only act and feel the internal scream as his body refused him any other opposition.

"Not today summoner," Stephen curled his neck in front of him, nudging his chest and pushing him back lightly, shattering the spell. Tony could move again and he nodded, wordlessly a hand on Stephen's haunch.

"Do not look back at them," he stated plainly and the two slowly walked away as the creeping dread faded. 

"They are those who need to be forgotten, for they are lost and can never be found."

* * *

When he woke that morning he found himself not cuddled with a dragon, but surrounded by it. Rather than holding the summoner against him, Stephen had coiled his body around Tony’s in an arc with his face nestled into a pillow beside Tony’s head, breathing softly. At first, he thought the dragon was asleep and took the time to monitor his feathers’ state before reaching to touch the mark on his head. Stephen gave a soft purr in response, peeking an eye open at him and then closing it again.

“You love the thrill of danger it seems, my summoner,” Stephen greeted quietly, sounding considerably more awake than Tony had anticipated.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tony yawned, rolling onto his side to wrap his arms around the feathery neck, holding the dragon close.

“Visiting that place will bring you no rest. Not even a final rest, summoner,” Stephen responded as a wing stretched out and over Tony. “Eventually, it will exhaust you. But if you want to know the source of that forest… there are other ways to find out. Help me find out what happened to the dragon in your nightmares - help me learn their story - and I may be able to help you answer the questions you seek regarding that place. I thought I warned you weeks ago not to give in to that temptation.”

It was early for this. Really early. He didn’t anticipate having any conversations of this nature first thing in the morning, but he pulled back slightly to stare at the dragon as he started to process his words. “You want me to help you find out the love story between a human and a dragon in order to get information about the shattered forest? Really?”

“It is simply a part of the process of learning what happened if that is what you wish to know.”

“I fail to see how these things correlate-” Tony began, and Stephen lifted his head to look at the summoner.

“How long has it been since dragons have been allowed to freely roam?”

“A century, give or take.”

“Mmm, and how long has humanity been plagued by the illness of the shattered forest?”

“... are you implying these things are connected somehow to this friend of yours and his lover?”

The dragon’s expression changed slightly, his ears twitching. “There is only one way to find out, is there not? Besides, what is beneath the shattered forest, Tony?”

Tony shuddered as the images flashed through his mind, pressing in suffocatingly. “How could he fit down there? How vast must that underground be to fit something so impossibly large?”

“Dreams and nightmares do not abide by such concepts of logic. But that does not change that there may well be some essence of him below there. I have my suspicions, but there must be safer ways to discover the truth than to venture into certain death.”

"I can't stop myself… I’m starting to feel like I owe it to my mother and myself to find out what's down there, what happened and where this all originated from," he spoke softly, closing his eyes, fingers combing through azure feathers.

"There is nothing to gain down there but misery; what lies beneath Centralia is nothing more than death itself, despair surrounded by its own undoing. You would do best to stay away, even in your dreams," Stephen suggested softly, poking Tony with the tip of his beak.

"You act as if I have any control over my dreams as if I'm manipulating them somehow..." Tony started.

"Well, yes, did you not conjure me in your own design?" Stephen perked his ears.

"No human can control their own dreams..."

"Oh, is that so?" Tony could read on the dragon's face that he simply wasn't going to buy that answer. "While I understand your suggestion you did to a degree shape me how you saw fit."

"But that was the work of my subconscious, you are literally telling me to control a part of myself that I have no control over," Tony finally sat up.

"You have not yet learned to control that, nor have you tried. You have simply let your mind run free, it takes a certain fortitude," Stephen pressed his head up against Tony's chest and the engineer sighed softly.

"I apparently have a lot to learn given what people keep telling me. I feel like I've been put under the most pressure here because I simply don't know some of these things.”

"Perhaps it's because they all saw in you the potential for remarkable things. They know you are destined for greatness which is why they insist on pushing you," Stephen's tail swayed softly.

“You say ‘they’ like you’re not one of the people doing this,” Tony remarked, and Stephen chuckled.

“I am officially a person now, am I? Now that I have shown off a human form, is that it?”

“We’re not going to talk about your human form-”

“But I require your assistance with that,” Stephen responded, the shimmer he’d seen before spreading over the dragon before Tony was left with a naked humanoid-dragon in his bed. Tony released him and sat back promptly.

“Geez - give a guy some warning!” the summoner insisted, dragging his blankets over himself properly as the sudden change sparked a rather odd reaction in him. Really, the reaction wouldn’t be odd if it weren’t for the fact that Stephen was his familiar - and a dragon. Having an attractive man in his bed wasn’t exactly a thing he was known for protesting, but this was something else entirely.

“I would have thought the byproduct of my transforming would have been obvious to you? My apologies, I will make more of an effort to inform you in advance in the future. However, I do require your aid in fine-tuning this form,” Stephen hummed softly, sitting up and touching himself - as though that was somehow going to do anything for Tony’s mental state beyond watching those trembling hands roaming his long, toned body, exploring lithe muscles and bone structure curiously.

He was honestly doing his best to avoid thinking about those hands exploring him similarly, but there was only so much he could do to case those thoughts.

Tony looked at Stephen, finally mustering up the courage to look at the humanoid form in front of him. An even musculature and it was clear by the way the dragon adapted his form that he was trying to mimic Tony to the very best.

"Well...." Tony started, pausing for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Stephen furrowed his brows, lounging in the nude before him, and what it took for Tony not to want to push his summon down and do unspeakable things was beyond him.

But that was wrong, so wrong - did that border bestiality? What specifically defined bestiality and what lines did he cross? At the moment that was his greatest anxiety despite his companion being fully sentient and at the moment, in an entirely human form.

"Nothing, nothing... just, one second," he took in a deep breath and shed his robes, garments and all, then removed his pants and knickers exposing himself entirely to the dragon before him.

"I see, so humans are not internal like us dragon-folk," Tony's face turned red and Stephen immediately polymorphed his form to match Tony's.

His dangling extremities hanging out, there it was, and Tony took one look and then immediately averted his gaze.

"Is there a problem summoner?" Stephen approached, concern laden in his voice.

"No- there’s nothing wrong, it's just - I'm," Tony grunted, embarrassed. "I'm not used to seeing other men naked is all… especially when I am attracted to that gender," Stephen nodded and immediately resumed his cloaking illusion to leave fabric draping gracefully over his form.

"I appreciate you taking the time, regardless," Stephen smiled and Tony finally looked back at him, still red in the cheeks, finding it awfully hot in the room.

"Are you sure you are not sick my summoner?”

He may have been aware of a lot, and more familiar with how humans functioned than Tony had given him credit for, but damn did Stephen have a lot to learn about  _ a lot _ of things. And he didn’t want to teach him - not really. 

Not that way.

_ Probably. _

“I’m fine,” Tony sighed rubbing at his face a bit. “I need to have a quick shower and then we’ll go have breakfast and maybe get to class? If you think you can tolerate Loki for a bit today?”

“I suppose I can consider it,” Stephen huffed a little. “Do you need assistance with-”

“I can shower on my own. You get yourself into your dealing-with-Loki mindset, and we’ll be good to go. If you wanna make me some coffee though, that would speed up this process wonderfully?” he suggested in an effort to spare himself the embarrassment of explaining why he was jerking off in the shower. Conversations he didn’t need to have with his summon today - or maybe ever.

“Very well,” the dragon agreed, gliding across the floor and towards the kitchen while Tony pulled on a housecoat and made his way towards the bathroom to  _ deal with his situation. _

He made it as quick as he could manage, taking the time to clean up afterwards, and by the time he was out, Stephen was sitting at the kitchen table with two cups of coffee, doing his best to try and sip at one of them and looking displeased. 

His gaze lifted to settle on Tony as he returned, and the dragon frowned.

“I do not know how to make this taste any better. Must you drink it every morning as it is? I am certain I can make something better for you...”

"Well no, coffee just has a bitter taste overall, there's not much you can do about that aspect of it," Tony couldn't help but giggle at Stephen's attempts, shaking his head.

The drake only flashed him a sour look and he raised his mug in the air to cheers him halfway before taking a swing and letting out a deep breath, enjoying the taste.

"I appreciate this though, thank you, you're so cute when you try to do human things, you know?" Tony couldn't help but comment as the drake shoved his own drink away with distaste.

Stephen turned his nose up at that comment, and Tony continued to enjoy the fresh cup. Lately Tony was finding it harder and harder not to find Stephen's silly antics appealing in some way. The drake's lack of understanding of human culture was rather endearing, coupled with the desire to accommodate Tony's comfort in every way possible.

Tony finished most of his java before the cup was put down on the table. He stood, turning to Stephen as he slipped on his coat.

The drake soon followed, happily leaving the unwanted cup of coffee behind before he walked up to Tony and gently planted a simple gold chain around his neck.

"For you," he mumbled softly and Tony knew better than to protest, lifting the chain with a finger and smiling.

"Thank you, it's lovely." 

He had made a habit of putting the gold band he’d received earlier that month on as well, making it two pieces of jewelry - gifts that Stephen had given him.

It was impossible to miss the joy in the dragon’s expression when Tony accepted the gift, and the smile he donned was infectious to say the least. It was warm and vibrant, and fighting the echoing smile on his own face felt nearly impossible. Instead, he curled his hand around the necklace for a brief moment before tucking it into his robes where it would be safe. Stephen didn’t seem even remotely ruffled by that notion as the pair made their way to the first class of the morning.

Professor Kaplan wore a warm smile as he greeted them, and most of the class was fairly relaxed as they talked about the history of divination itself. It was almost ten minutes before class ended that something came up that really pulled Tony in again.

“It was only about a century ago that diviners were taken more seriously again after warnings were ignored about Centralia,” the young professor hummed softly. “But the subject of Centralia is an entirely different story, for our more advanced diviners to learn from. For now, make certain you do your reading over the weekend, chapters seven and eight.”

If Tony hadn’t been paying attention, he wouldn’t have heard the quiet “I know most of you won’t,” that the teacher uttered as people began to pack up and get things together. Tony glanced briefly at Stephen and the dragon rolled his eyes.

“Are you certain you wish to ask him?”

“Well, you’re not exactly being forthcoming with information are you?” Tony teased, prodding at him before slipping past and making his way down the stairs towards the professor.

“Hey, Professor Kaplan!” he greeted, wondering how to approach the conversation with the young man. Would he share the information he had? Could he wring the information out of him somehow? Were diviners immune to that kind of thing?

“Stark, how can I help you?” the man smiled and something in his expression made Tony vaguely uneasy for a moment.

“I was curious… see, you were mentioning Centralia-”

“And about how it was for my advanced Divination students?”

“Y-yes, well, I still had some questions…”

“Everyone does,” the professor looked past him to the dragon for a moment and back. “I am sorry for your loss, but Centralia is a subject not actively taught outside of specific specialties for several reasons.”

“I understand, I just…”

“I take it your own diviner refuses to answer you?” the professor smirked a little, glancing at the dragon behind him again. Tony turned in his spot to look between the two for a moment as he was reminded before he returned his gaze to the teacher.

“I just want to get rid of these nightmares.”

“Don’t speak with anyone about those,” the divination professor counselled, giving him a serious look. “I can’t tell you what you want to know, Stark. You’re… in a precarious position, and I can’t influence it. There are things you need to learn on your own.”

“How can I learn on my own if no one will teach me?” Tony responded with a hint of frustration. He’d heard this same thing from Stephen enough times, he didn’t need it from a professor as well.

“Professors aren’t the only source of knowledge. People aren’t the only source of knowledge. Consider your studies,” the professor gathered up his own books and gave Tony a pat on the shoulder. “We’re counting on you.”

With that, the man left the hall with Tony staring after him and turning a look of frustration on Stephen. “... do you wanna tell me what the hell that was all about?”

“Divination is a blessing and a curse,” Stephen stated simply, though when Tony simply glowered at him for it, he sighed and elaborated. “Diviners do not see all futures, summoner. They only see the path that people are currently on. They gave warnings about Centralia because they were on a path to destruction and they were ignored. Some believe that their interference caused what happened to begin with…”

Tony nodded, frustrated that the answers he was seeking were so hard to come by given the entire academy was here for that very thing. Every road Tony turned down was met with a roadblock but that wasn't going to stop him from figuring out what he needed to know, in fact, it only urged him forward like some odd obsession.

He stalked off, Stephen on his heels as he left the auditorium and immediately bumped into Loki outside of the room.

"Sorry I-" Tony took a step back but was stopped as Loki's hands were on his shoulders to steady him.

"My, my! That's quite forward of you! Not even the first date and you're already throwing yourself at me, Stark!" Loki hummed, grinning over his shoulder at Stephen who seemed to bristle at Loki being in Tony's space, though it did seem as if the dragon was holding himself back from snatching up his summoner for the moment, behaving himself in fact.

"Where's Bruce? Or Thor? You three are usually attached at the hip," Tony inquired softly.

"Yes, well, contrary to popular belief I don't always need to be babysitting that oaf, and it looks like our efforts have finally paid off since those two are on a date so it would seem," Loki grinned widely. "We could go on our own date too, see if we could spark a little competition for who's the best pair?”

"A date..." Stephen furrowed his brows, and Tony looked over to him.

"Oh look, a wise dragon with absolutely no damn clue what's going on," Loki started. "For a thousand-year-old being, you're rather dull sometimes." Stephen was about to step forward but Tony held out a hand, already knowing that it would set him off. That was effective enough to stop him.

Tony pulled away from Loki, getting out of his space, he could already sense Stephen's aggravation without having to turn around, and it was just as he had that thought that he felt the drake’s  _ very nude _ front, pressed up against his back.

He felt everything on his backside.  _ Everything. _

Stephen’s glamour effect was simply that, an illusion. The drake wore no clothing but simply hid his nude form under magical guises. 

It was nearly impossible to ignore the spark of turbulent feelings that stirred within him as his mind immediately went to other places. Tony reached back to lay a hand on Stephen's wrist, and the drake took his hand, clenching it tightly.

"I see you're dealing with your separation anxiety well, Stephen," the raven-haired man purred delightedly. Though it would seem he'd done enough as he grinned and waved a hand. 

"Let me know if you want some real company later this evening, Stark, you seem a  _ bit pent up, _ " Loki turned to walk away and Stephen seemed clueless while Tony's face was completely red from the implications.

“... I am almost certain he was waiting for you here,” Stephen muttered, his voice low and his arms wrapped around Tony, an involuntary growl emanating from the other’s throat. 

“What did he mean by  _ pent up?  _ Are you unwell? I am perfectly capable of taking care of you,” the dragon insisted, and Tony took a few deep breaths before reaching to pat his hand gently.

“You take care of me just fine big guy. I’m not sick. It’s not like that,” he assured the other as he carefully unwound himself from Stephen’s hold to guide him back towards their apartment.

“Are you certain? Did he do something to you?” the other inquired, and Tony could feel the eyes on his back as much as he felt the hand holding his.

“No, no… It’s not - it’s nothing like that, Stephen. I just need to take a few minutes to myself and settle down. You wanna make some more coffee while I do?”

“... have I done something to aggravate you?” the dragon’s alarm rang in his ears as he opened the door again and Tony closed his eyes tightly to take a deep breath. A funny question, that one, but not one he could rightly answer accurately. What was he going to say? ‘Hey mister dragon, wanna come suck my cock?’

The temptation was there. A little bit. But he knew better.

“No, of course not, Stephen. You like moments to yourself sometimes, don’t you? Just quiet moments, to think and relax, and not have to worry about people around you?” Tony glanced at him as they entered the apartment, and Stephen gave him an uncertain look.

“... do… you want me to go back to the mountain?” he inquired carefully, and despite his very expressional ears not being apparent in this form, Tony swore he saw the way they laid back in fear.

“No! Gods no! Stephen, I’m not sending you away! I just…” he trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts again. If the dragon really was a thousand or so years old, then maybe the best approach was the plain one? “I’m just… kinda… aroused right now? And I need to deal with it,” he blurted out, rubbing at his face to quell the embarrassment.

“I see,” the dragon’s tone changed quickly enough, accepting the response. “Would that not be better handled with another’s aid? I can assist…”

"I-" Tony's face was completely red and this only made things incredibly much more difficult now that Stephen had asked. The idea of it only turned him on further, but then there was the ethical side of things to consider.

How many people did he know who slept with their summons? Again, other things came into play here as well… But Stephen was very handsome… very cute, and it wasn’t like the two of them didn't already share a certain closeness.

It almost seemed like a duty that the dragon offered, and Tony bit his tongue as he formulated his thoughts around it, taking a lot more time to really digest the question and form an answer more than necessary.

"Summoner...?" Stephen stepped into Tony's space, and he had to press a hand to Stephen's chest, helplessly taken by the idea of the taller man helping to ease away his 'troubles'.

"Yeah… I guess you could if you're really up to it." 

There it was, and the words seemed to slip out before he really finished his train of thought, and now he was shooting himself for it.

"Very well, instruct me on how you best wish to have this dealt with." Tony face-palmed, cheeks flushed and he grabbed Stephen's wrist and lightly towed him into the bedroom, shutting the door despite that their apartment was just that - theirs. The air was getting thick and the more he committed the more his inhibitions seemed to dissolve.

"Usually… male humans have a higher interest in sex," he started to explain to Stephen, stripping himself down, first came his shirt, exposing the gold chain that accompanied the ring on his finger. "When we want to take care of this 'urge', we um-" Tony made a bunch of gestures with his hands that Stephen was not wholly understood given the blank look on his face.

"Ah, hang on… Do you know how animals procreate certain times of the year? They go into heat?"

Stephen nodded.

"Well humans don't have a time, and if something is sexually arousing then they tend to become aroused… we can fornicate any time." Tony felt like a high-school teacher trying to teach sex-ed... to a dragon. "Oftentimes, for fun."

Stephen nodded his understanding again, eyes on Tony as he lost his pants and underwear. "So… if you want to 'help', sit down on the bed," he instructed. Stephen didn't hesitate, taking a seat at the head of the bed and waited. He was rather delighted when Tony crawled up into his lap, looking over his shoulder at him before leaning back.

"I'm not really used to human contact, but I'm comfortable with you so we'll just… take it slow, this is new to me..." Tony muttered sheepishly. He took Stephen's left arm and placed it around his chest, while he directed the other with much more hesitation to his cock. There was another drawn-out moment where he bit his lip, almost thinking before he took Stephen's right hand and placed it at the base of his shaft.

"And I usually like to do it like this," his voice was quieter, the other's warmth was comforting and he guided Stephen's hand over his cock in and upward and downward motion.

It was a bit much to get over the idea that he was sitting in the dragon's lap, whose illusion of clothing did nothing to hide the actual feeling of him being nude.

"I see… and just keep going then until you reach your 'release?'"

"Yeah, not much different than animals, but humans tend to play a bit, so if you want to make this a little more fun," Tony reached for some lubricant in his side drawer.

"Stop for a second and open your palm," Stephen tilted his head curiously as Tony squeezed some lubricant out into his palm. "Alright, now go, this is to prevent chafing," Tony added, flustered.

"Ah, unlike dragons you humans don't seem to produce your own lubricant?"

"-Say what?"

"When we are aroused our genitalia are already slick, we don't need this extra nonsense."

"I see..." Tony twitched anxiously, leaning back into Stephen and for a moment considered kissing him.

He didn’t have much of a chance, however, as Stephen’s head buried itself against his neck, his mouth already kissing and nipping at his neck. A tongue curled along the metal of the necklace around his neck and Stephen gave a low purr at that, and a shudder ran through Tony’s body at the sound so close to his ear.

The hand around him curled a little more firmly as Stephen’s fingers touched and explored over his shaft and head, moving up and down along him with ease in the process as his fingers found new spots to touch and press attentively. Tony tried not to wiggle too much, though as Stephen’s strokes became surer and more confident he relaxed his head back against Stephen’s shoulder, allowing the dragon access to the side of his neck and down over his shoulder.

Stephen’s other arm curled around him after a moment, though it seemed to hesitate briefly and Tony barely processed the words as they slipped from Stephen’s mouth.

“... may I touch more of you?”

It seemed absurd to Tony, whose mind was a little hazy at that moment, to begin with as he basked in the feel of the other’s gentle hand on him. Stephen was already being extraordinarily intimate with him at this, the fact that he was uncertain if he was allowed to touch otherwise seemed preposterous. But Tony gave a little nod anyway, a gasp slipping from him as Stephen’s hand squeezed briefly on it’s way up.

“Ngh… yes. Yes of course, if you want to. I said you could play a bit!” he reminded the other and was immediately graced with fingers running over his body curiously.

Stephen was either getting into the swing of things, or had picked up on the catch in Tony’s breath as he tightened his hand, and he remained consistently firm and even with his strokes, his free hand tracing along Tony’s collarbone and giving the reactor wide berth with his fingers before dipping down along his belly.

He wasn’t certain when he’d started to rock his hips, but the awareness that he had been thrusting into the other’s hand came to him as he felt something slick and wet rubbing along his back with his movements. 

Between his soft huffs and pants, he heard the heavier breathing of the dragon stifled against his neck as Stephen’s lips continued their gentle assault on his skin. Stephen had exchanged hands, though the other had somehow become lubed (magic, his mind supplied surprisingly easily) in the process, and what remained of the lube on the first hand was dragged over the planes and valleys of his abdomen.

The trail left a delightful chill over the surface of his skin, rocking in tandem with Stephen's gesture, letting out his own heated breaths with the process. There was another gentle jab to his backside from Stephen's hips and all inhibitions were thrown to the wind as Tony mumbled for Stephen to pause for a moment.

"Hold on a second..." Tony instructed and Stephen almost let out a soft whine in protest as Tony got up only to turn himself around and sling his legs over Stephen's hips so he was sitting in his lap the other way.

Stephen's hands stayed on him, keeping the magus steadied as he repositioned himself and Tony was able to get a good look at those glassy blue eyes, dark with lust, a look he'd never seen in his dragon's eyes before.

"You might as well lose the illusion, it's not doing anything for you," Tony huffed softly and as Stephen dissolved the clothing on his body. Tony reached down to procure him, pressing their cocks together with an arm slung over Stephen's shoulder to steady himself.

"I don't how long you can keep that up with your hands..." he murmured huskily, taking over the gesture and looking up into the dragon's face who seemed to struggle to keep them open beyond a half-lidded state.

"I definitely understand this, the appeal that is..." Stephen finally commented and Tony let his hand run over the front of Stephen's chest, perfectly sculpted in its own image. He got a soft purr in response, arms wrapping around his waist.

Tony, in turn, leaned forward and finally fulfilled his previous desires. He took Stephen's mouth with his own, forcing an open-mouth, tongue-in kiss. The dragon was confused at first but said nothing, only hesitated before following Tony's lead, pushing back and mimicking his ministrations as best the could.

Tony closed his eyes, and for a moment it almost seemed like Stephen was pushing back. He stroked both of them, sharing whatever lubricant had been on his own prick and spreading it to Stephen's. He could feel the soft rumbling in Stephen's chest resonate through his body, enjoying the velvety soft sensation of Stephen's cock pressed against his own.

The dragon gave a low grumble of pleasure against Tony’s lips, keeping his arms wrapped around his summoner as Tony continued to explore the surprisingly cinnamon and sugar taste of the other’s mouth. There was a fascinating texture rubbing against his trapped erection, and he felt it beneath his fingers as he stroked.

A small part of him wanted to look - he was curious! - but curiosity alone was insufficient to pull him out of the blissful high of their interactions, especially as Stephen’s fingers trailed into his hair to hold him closer, kisses turning steadily more eager. His head was at war between his arousal and his questions (did dragons kiss? Did they kiss with their tongues? Was this an entirely new experience for Stephen?  _ Was all of this okay? _ ) and he was certain they’d have a lot to discuss afterwards, but inevitably arousal won out.

“Tony…” Stephen whispered against his lips, a little whine slipping out between them, and Tony couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“Y’okay?” he inquired softly, pulling back just enough to press his forehead against Stephen’s, the tips of their noses brushing as he watched the other’s face carefully. The dragon nodded minutely, before leaning back in to steal his lips, sending the butterflies scattering through his stomach.

Tony groaned loudly into the liplock, he was now completely a slave to the indulgence, Stephen having easily adjusted and overpowering his senses, it felt real, it felt like nothing he'd ever experienced on this kind of intimate level with another human being.

He felt Stephen tense against him, arms tighten and the dragon growled lowly into his mouth as his body seized up and before he knew it they were both tumbling down to the bed. Stephen had opted to pull him tightly against his chest, seemingly reaching his own finality before Tony. He was crushed into the man's chest in a bear hug as the drake curled around him in his humanoid state. They'd toppled backwards with Stephen beneath him and then teetered to their sides.

Whether it was purely psychological or the physical reaction, Tony was soon to follow, letting out an unrepressed gasp of pleasure into Stephen's mouth. His muscles seized and he curled up, lost in the bliss and the pleasure, boneless in the drake's embrace.

"That," Tony breathed softly, "was way better with you..." he mumbled, managing to find the strength to let go and grasp the other's cheeks, placing a kiss on his chin.

Things oddly felt… so natural, despite their relations being interspecies.

Stephen’s head butted up against his, a perfectly contented smile on his face despite his eyes being closed, and his lips parted slightly to breathe. “I am… happy I could assist… though this may well have been a… mutually beneficial arrangement?” he chuckled lowly, the sound vibrating through Tony’s chest.

Stephen’s hand stroked through Tony’s hair soothingly, and small kisses were pressed over his face wherever the dragon could reach without moving too much. Tony allowed himself to indulge entirely, looping the arm that wasn’t pinned beneath him around Stephen’s waist to hold him close.

“You taste like cinnamon, did you know that?”

“If I taste like cinnamon it’s your fault,” the dragon responded with a soft chuckle.

“How so? I don’t recall feeding you anything with cinnamon…”

“You dreamed me, Tony. Dreams are voiceless, tasteless, scentless things… any of these attributes that I have are of your creation. If I taste like something, it’s because it’s what you dreamed I - or someone you would like to kiss - would taste like. My voice is how you dreamed my voice would sound.”

“Do… I really have that much power over you?” Tony inquired softly, peering at the gently smiling man in his arms.

“I have my own innate powers, however, your faith in my skill adds and your belief in me empower me - that is your power as a summoner of a dream dragon, well beyond what you think it is. I am not incapable of using all of my powers without you, but my magic can be strangled by a lack of faith. If you believed that I could not help you, I would be dramatically more limited in what I could do to help you…”

Tony thought that over for a while, considering the implications of what Stephen had said.

"So if I envisioned you as a three-headed hydra with eight dicks would that happen?" Tony joked around with a wide grin on his face.

"Is that really what you wish of me, Tony?" the drake didn't protest. If it was his summoner's wish, he wouldn't argue with it.

"Actually, no, not really. That would just be weird," Tony mumbled softly. The young man curled into his summon, wrapping his arms around Stephen and pulling the other taut against his chest.

"I can agree with you there, with the whole… mutually beneficial part, it definitely helped me get exactly where I needed to be," Tony husked softly. "Plus, I find your human form very appealing… very attractive," he added softly curling up against Stephen's form.

"Shall I clean us up?" Stephen inquired softly and Tony lightly shook his head. "Give me a few more minutes, I just want to bask for a short while," Tony mumbled under his breath, soaking up Stephen's warmth and closeness.

"This was more than I could have asked for," Tony started softly, afraid to meet Stephen's eyes.

"I am simply happy that I was able to assist you with your troubles, summoner." The cloak came in soon enough, settling over both of them like a blanket and Tony cuddled in close to Stephen.

"I may have to request your assistance more often."

“Any time you wish, I am more than happy to provide the aid that I can,” Stephen purred, nestling in against Tony and kissing his forehead gently. “In whatever manner I can. Not just in this, but in most things. Those that I cannot aid you in for whatever reason, I will still support you in finding the answers for. You are my summoner, and I want nothing more than your happiness.”

“What about your own happiness?” Tony found himself asking, closing his eyes to cuddle with his summon, feeling warm, content and safe in his spot.

“You provide me with an extraordinary amount of happiness,” Stephen returned, settling his arms around Tony and holding him. “You are my purpose in this plane, and I will care for you for so long as you live, in this reality and any other.”

“That’s quite a pledge,” Tony murmured sleepily.

“It is a pledge I made the moment I answered your summons - and I do not regret it in the slightest. You are precious to me, my summoner, beyond words and dreams, you are precious to me.”

Tony’s mumbles faded off into sleep, and his dreams were full of light that afternoon. He dreamed he was adorned in white silk, silver jewelry with blue gems that shone as brightly as his arcane reactor. He dreamt of warmth and affection, of radiating pride.

The shadows were nowhere to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note from Foxglove: Just a brief apology - I know I'm a little behind on responding to everyone, but we do love hearing from you and hopefully, I'll be able to respond soon! It's been 11 days since I lost my glasses, so I'm pretty blind at the moment, using borrowed glasses whose prescriptions don't match in order to do any editing and whatnot. New glasses should be ready tomorrow, but in the meantime I wanted all of you to know that your comments mean the world to us! Comments and kudos keep us motivated, and your dedication as readers has not gone unnoticed! Thank you all so much!
> 
> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	8. Chapter 8

Over the following months in the semester, Tony's thirst for knowledge in pursuit of discovering the secrets to the forest didn't relent, in fact, his curiosity grew, much to Stephen's dismay.

He oft-talked about it, stayed after class with lectures with Selvig and even went as far as taking on extra-curricular research projects the Telemancy professor had to offer. This wasn't at the expense of any of his other classes either, as expected Tony seamlessly picked up on the double majors, easily balancing the workload and having time to take on those extra projects. Though despite his choice to study in Enchanting with an eventual goal of specializing in Technomancy, he was clearly drawn to the summoning specialization and Telemancy.

It wasn't long before he was offered a specialized research project that was approved by the academy's professors to modify his schedule. While Tony's persistence to find out more about Centralia drove him, he ended up taking up an environmental research study elsewhere. 

His studies would have him going right to the root of the problem - not the Shattered Forest itself but directly to the Sanctums which regulated and protected the ley-lines of the world. There, he was sure he would find some answers, those pertaining to the anomalies and irregularities which have been more and more frequent as well as the outbreaks that were still spreading. This was all in an attempt to take his mind off of things.

After the intimate moment Tony and Stephen had shared, Tony had chosen to bury himself in work and oftentimes Stephen would go stir crazy if he wasn't attending classes or workshops with him. Even though their shared connection was strong, and on the surface, there were no complications with them, Tony had some minor reservations, apparently still riddled with thoughts about how intimately entangled he felt with Stephen, how much he'd enjoyed their moments together, to a point where he found it rather concerning for himself.

Not only was his summon a male but also a dragon and thousands of years older than him. The ethical dilemmas within his mind still stayed a constant and while he was happy to accept the sweet gestures and gifts Stephen showed him, there was nearly one piece missing from it all the time and Tony could tell that his dragon had long caught on to that though still seemed to wave it off.

"Tony," Stephen walked into the room, he'd often chosen to assume his human appearance for a while now - it had been some time since he’d seen the dragon in his feathered form when he really thought about it, but it wasn’t as though the form was inconvenient so he didn’t mention it. 

"I have been doing a lot of thinking. Considering your safety, there might be something I can help you with on your trip. I can endorse your project, and help to the best of my abilities... there is something important in Centralia I need that I cannot retrieve alone from the dream realm..."

Tony looked up from his textbook. He gave the dragon an inquisitive look as Stephen perched himself on the couch beside him, looking at him earnestly.

"What's this all about? This entire time you've been against me going there, and now there's this sudden change of heart?" he peered back at Stephen.

Tony had slowly developed some unconventional fondness towards Stephen. He had a hunch that the drake could tell in some sort of way - only a hunch, of course, but the dragon always did seem to know more than he let on. 

“I am surprised you are asking questions rather than simply jumping on my offer,” Stephen remarked, watching him steadily. “There seems to be little I can do to convince you to stay away from it. You have made your decision. And since, as I said, there is something I need there anyway… in the end, this is efficient, is it not?”

“I’m not exactly rejecting your offer. I mean, I wasn’t going to leave you behind anyway. I saw what leaving you alone did, and I really don’t want to kill you or make you sick, or anything along those lines.” 

He definitely didn’t want that. What he did want? Stephen curled in his arms, cuddling with him through the nights - and that was already troublesome enough.

Stephen had only cuddled with him a handful of times since that afternoon - mostly on the couch while they were reading, though he woke once from a less than pleasant dream to find strong arms wrapped around him. Otherwise, for the most part, the dragon kept mostly to the far side of the bed, giving him plenty of space though never really leaving him alone.

He missed having the other close, but at the same time, space was appreciated while he was sorting things out.

“I still want to know why you’re suddenly interested in helping with this, though,” Tony stated when the silence sat between them longer than he would’ve liked.

Stephen hesitated for a few long minutes, looking off to one side before sighing heavily. “Untethering… is not an easily accomplished task. A summoner can dismiss a summon, but it will not break their bond. A summon cannot sever their bond to their summoner, either. They have accepted a contract by accepting the summons to begin with…”

“... sever…” Tony started, feeling something in his chest go strangely cold as he processed the dragon’s words. “... you… want to…?”

The dragon wasn’t looking at him, and Tony wasn’t certain whether he was grateful for that or hurt by it. 

Had he done something to make Stephen not want to be around him anymore? He’d been working hard as a summoner - sure, it wasn’t what he’d thought he wanted, but having Stephen in his life had made the idea almost… fun. Summoning itself turned out to be more interesting than he’d expected.

But Stephen didn’t want him anymore? As a summoner?

“Did… I do something wrong?”

“Of course not,” Stephen responded quietly, staring at the table as Tony closed his textbook entirely. “But you seem to have certain reservations about my presence. It has been fairly ongoing thus far, whether you want me around or you do not… untethering will allow you to go back to your life as you wanted it to be.”

Tony's eyes fell down and he felt the cold in his chest grow and spread. He couldn't deny that he'd been, to a degree, distant from the other and he in a sense knew the other was picking up on that closed off energy.

"I- no that's not it, Stephen..." Tony looked up at him, and those brilliant blue eyes of his would be his undoing.

Stephen stared back down at him with intensity, searching for an answer. "Then why have I sensed you pulling away…? I do not feel the closeness, the vibrancy we shared. We were not close near the start of our partnership but even then I did not sense this hesitance. This absence." There was a key of sorrow to Stephen's inquiry, though he remained resolute in his exploration for the truth.

Tony cast his eyes away, ashamed. "I'm-" he stopped himself. "I don't know, I'm just uncertain about this, all of this, I've been confused..."

"About...?" Stephen pushed softly.

"Us, this, what we are, I don't know how to deal with his, I have feelings, very strong feelings for you but I don't know if they are 'right,'" Tony finally looked up at Stephen, he was scared, fleeting, as if he was made of glass. "Is this right?"

"What do you mean...?"

"I have feelings for you, Stephen, in some way... I don't know how to deal with them and this seems so unconventional," Tony looked away, he couldn't bear to see the dragon's gaze right now or he might simply fall apart.

"Then why do you deny yourself that?" Stephen simply asked. "You need not question how I feel for you, you are my summoner, thus you are my world and my life is an honour and joy to be with you," Stephen inched a little closer to him.

"That's... different, Stephen, do you have feelings for me? As in, do you enjoy my company, do you care for me in this way - do you love me?" Tony didn't understand.

"Well, yes, unconditionally, what kind of question is that?" Stephen had answered that question so quickly and resolutely Tony almost fell back on the arm of the couch from the rush of realization and the gravity of those words.

“... you… love me?” the words came out slowly, his awe readily apparent. The confusion on Stephen’s face bore into him as the dragon tilted his head.

“Have I ever given you a reason to believe that I did not? I have stayed at your side, always. I have listened, I have sheltered, I have remained as close as I felt you would allow… I have given you tokens upon tokens of my affection…”

Tony’s eyes fell to the rings on his fingers, the bracelet there, the necklace around his neck… “O-oh.  _ Oh. _ ”

“... you did not… understand them as such?” Stephen inquired lowly, his hands fidgeting slightly in his spot. “Have my offerings been inadequate displays of my affection?”

“No! I just… thought… I mean, I assumed it was some… dragon… thing…”

“How do humans express their affection? Are tokens of affection not standard fare?”

“We… it’s usually more like… flowers… dates… uh,” Tony hesitated as he fidgeted with one of the rings on his fingers. He hadn’t given anything of that sort to Stephen, though, had he? As he looked up to the other’s face he realized the same thought had crossed Stephen’s mind as the other seemed to withdraw a little bit.

“These… feelings you have for me… are they not feelings of love? Have I not won your affections?”

Tony folded his hands into his lap, playing with the ring around his finger still. There was a deep sinking feeling in his chest and he felt for a moment so isolated, worried he'd say the wrong thing and scare Stephen off.

"You have, you've done nothing but look out for my interest in every way possible, I just - I'm not familiar with this and with this whole… dynamic. I've never - I just, I don't know..." Tony ran a hand through his hair and he could feel the dragon's gaze on him.

He was afraid, nay, terrified to look up at Stephen, look him in the eye. Afraid the other would ask of him something he wasn't ready for. Though whether it be fear of his nightmares or fear of his own emotions he still sought Stephen out for comfort and salvation.

"I'm afraid," he put it simply and there was some shuffling on the other side of the couch before Stephen pulled him into his chest for an embrace.

"Fear of the unknown is a very common thing, yet that has never stopped you from diving headfirst into it," there was some amusement to Stephen's voice as he cradled Tony's head up against his chest.

Tony stayed put, curling up against Stephen's chest and closing his eyes. "This is all just so new to me… I've never..." the summoner sighed, covering his face and Stephen reached for his hand to pull it away from him.

"There is no shame in unfamiliarity, untrod grounds. I can sense your heart is there, I was simply confused… Do not feel the need to hide from me, summoner. We are one and the same, you cannot conceal what I have already seen."

“I have no idea what that means,” Tony grumbled softly in his spot. “But… Stephen… I don’t want you to go. I don’t… want our bond severed.”

“Then why all of this distance lately? Why are you afraid?”

“This just… isn’t something that’s done? People don’t… sleep with their summons?” the summoner sighed heavily in his spot, shaking his head even as Stephen brushed his fingers through his hair.

“You have slept with me nearly every night since summoning me. And every night since I was sick-”

“That’s not the kind of sleeping with I meant, Stephen,” Tony grumbled.

“Then why not simply say what you meant?” Stephen chuckled at him softly. “Sexual engagements are not uncommon between dragons and their summoners - or rather, they were not, prior to dragons being banished from this realm. You have already seen the product of such an engagement.”

Tony furrowed his brows, pulling back for a moment so he could look up at Stephen. His hands were pressed to Stephen's chest as he looked up.

"What do you… mean by that...?"

Stephen chuckled softly. "Your friend, the one I dislike, the one with all the answers you seemingly cannot figure out…”

Tony continued to frown. "What, you mean Loki?" Stephen only nodded in response. "No... what? I-" Tony looked down trying to formulate his thoughts on the matter.

"You mean to say, all this time...?"

"Indeed, I and some other faculty are aware of this truth, though it is kept quiet and discreet. No other students are currently aware of this other than his own brother, Thor," Stephen ran a hand through Tony's hair, resting both of his hands on the back of Tony's shoulders.

"Soon enough you will learn there are more examples of dragons and humans living together, as mates… one such that even plagues your dreams, the unfortunate soul he is..."

“... is that why you dislike Loki?” Understanding dawned on Tony then as he stared at Stephen for a long moment. “The reason you’re possessive around him and not around my other friends… is because he’s…?”

“Yes,” Stephen hummed. “Loki is hiding his true form, but that does not stop me from sensing it. I do not intend to allow another dragon to take you away from me. I do not know his nature. I do not know his intentions. I do not trust him not to hurt you, and to be frank… I am very possessive. You are  _ my  _ summoner, and I wish to protect you.”

“... yeah, I was reading about that. Dragons are one of the few summons that cannot be summoned with other summons or something, right? I thought it was just some sort of power imbalance…”

“No. We are possessive creatures. While we can choose to step aside and away, we are… quick to emotion, be that love, fear, possessiveness or jealousy…” Stephen grumbled softly, wrapping his arms around Tony to hold him close. “... so if you will allow me, everything I am I would dedicate to you. You have my unwavering loyalty. But if you wish me gone… then I will do whatever I can within my power to untether us, that you may live your life the way you wish.”

"No, Stephen, that's the opposite of what I want… I've been telling you:  _ I want you here with me _ . I don't want you to leave, to have you go off on your own, you're important to me. I just need some time to come around in kin to the feelings you have… It's new ground for me," Tony tilted his head, wrapping his arms completely around the drake's midsection and pressing his cheek into the other's chest.

"You’re mine as well, and I hate the idea that you want to leave at some point, leave me alone. I accepted the responsibilities and what my actions entailed when I called you forth. I've learned my lesson and I'm not simply doing it out of necessity," Tony lifted his head to smile up at him, taking in his soft scent.

Stephen smelled of fresh laundry, and something homely. Something of what he imagined the ideal date to smell like, curling up against him. He had his own unique scent, individual on its own yet so familiar.

"I am… glad to hear it, I do not think I could have hoped for a better answer, and I will give you all the time you need, all the help you need to come around for me..." the dragon leaned down to press the bridge of his nose into the top of Tony's forehead.

Something cold settled around Tony’s neck after a moment, before becoming surprisingly warm as it settled into place. Stephen’s hand brushed over the spot that was now covered by something unfamiliar, before brushing at his jaw gently.

“I love you, my summoner.”

“Did I just get another gift?” Tony teased, offering a small, sheepish grin.

“A very special gift,” Stephen responded with a radiant smile of his own. “Why not go take a look? Tell me if you like it?”

Tony hesitated in his spot, tilting his head before sighing heavily. “But I’m comfortable here… I’m sure I’ll love it.”

“I can always modify it if you decide you do not. Well, I can modify the setting. Not the stone.”

“Stone?” Tony gave him a curious look at that, sitting up and touching at his throat. There, in the hollow of his collarbone, sat something smooth, round and warm beneath his touch. Very warm, in fact, and though it didn’t burn to the touch it felt like it should have. “What is this?”

“Hm. I suppose you will find out eventually on your own,” Stephen’s enigmatic smile met him again, and Tony frowned at that.

“I really hate your little mysteries sometimes, you know that?”

"... But you love me?" Stephen grinned widely, reaching forward to touch Tony on the tip of his nose, trailing his hand over to the engineer's face with his knuckles gently.

"Getting there, Stephen. Baby steps," Tony could see the dragon almost deflate. 

"You're the only one in my life, Stephen." 

The drake's mood seemed to go back up again with that and Tony smiled sheepishly.

"You know eventually I'll be so weighed down by jewelry I won't be able to walk," he teased softly.

"And then I will carry you, anywhere and everywhere, my Tony," Stephen smiled widely and Tony couldn't help but chuckle softly, fingering the pendant around his neck.

"You're missing the point here, Stephen."

"So I should stop giving you gifts...? It is but one of the many ways I show you my affections."

"I was teasing, Stephen. I appreciate everything you do," he cupped the dragon's head and peered back at him, thinking about going in for a kiss and he could see the anticipation laden in the other's eyes, enough to draw him in for it.

Tony pressed his lips to Stephen's, and the dragon's ears seemed to morph unexpectedly into their usual long azure state unbeknownst to Stephen as he excitedly crushed the smaller man against himself.

If he’d thought Stephen was easy to read before, as the kiss deepened his ears slowly laid back, twitching into a more relaxed state as he gave a soft noise of pleasure at the kiss. He didn’t push, at all, though the palm of his hand rested on Tony’s cheek as he happily submitted his mouth to Tony’s exploration before the brunette pulled away.

A smile lit Tony’s face as he spotted the other’s ears properly, and he gave the dragon a wry grin. “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen those… where have all your feathers been hiding lately, anyway?”

There was a delicious splash of red across the dragon’s cheeks, and he huffed softly at the question, holding the summoner close and looking a little worried. “I… thought perhaps my more draconic form was causing you discomfort with regards to our closeness. I assumed it would be easier, overall, if--”

“Stephen, have you been hiding it because you were worried about me?” Tony frowned a little, brushing Stephen’s cheekbones with his own hands as he rested one on either side of Stephen’s face. 

“No. There’s going to be none of that, do you hear me? I’ve seen you in a human form, I’ve seen you in various sizes of your draconic form… but I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide for my sake. You’re beautiful, you know that?”

Stephen’s ears perked up, though his head jerked back a little in surprise at that statement. “What?”

“In your human form you’re hot as fuck, but… as a dragon? You’re gorgeous, Stephen. You’re absolutely beautiful. I didn’t think dragons could be as lovely as you were, which is admittedly why I thought you were maybe some kind of bird or… something. I don’t know. But the point is… I don’t want you hiding, okay? I miss my big feathery cuddle buddy.”

Stephen made an oddly surprised squeak as feathers started to burst from his cheeks and all over his body, his clothing melding in with his colourful guise as his body grew and he assumed his true form once again, wings spread and arched around both of their forms as Tony was now sitting on Stephen's stomach, the drake on his back with his tail hanging over the edge of the couch.

Stephen's ears were completely erect as he peered down at Tony, tail flicking excitedly as Tony scooted up to sit on the feathers of his chest, grabbing the drake's head in both hands and pulling down to serve up some more gentle kisses on the mark in the middle of his forehead.

"There's my big feather beastie," Tony squeezed his face around his muzzle, crushing it to his chest and Stephen closed his eyes, nuzzling into his chest with enough force to almost send him teetering backwards.

"So... it does not bother you when I look like this then? Truly?" the stone around Tony's neck seemed to vibrate and heat up with Stephen's expression, and he looked down for a moment to finger it again.

"Of course not, I love this part of you, just as I love the other," Tony didn't expect to say it like that but the words came out nevertheless and Stephen grinned.

The dragon let out a soft mewl, and for a moment Tony thought he'd done something wrong. But Stephen simply couldn't contain his happiness, wrapping his paws and wings around his summoner and cradling him into his soft plumage.

“So you’re still coming with me on my trip, right? Still helping out, despite the fact that I am not letting you go any time soon?” Tony inquired from amidst feathers, finding himself surprisingly happy. Everything felt warm. It felt good, and right… and he wasn’t certain if that was because Stephen was so happy, or if it was simply his own pleasure.

He’d missed this. 

He’d missed the feathers and the ears, and the happy little crooning noises Stephen made. He’d missed the beautiful plumage and the rich colours of the dragon’s feathers, and the expressive ears. He’d missed the mark along the bridge of the dragon’s nose and over his forehead and the top of his head.

He’d missed his dragon being a dragon.

“I will do everything in my power to aid you, my summoner.”

“Good.”

* * *

The long weekend was a welcome break from Tony’s admittedly busy schedule. After being separated into his own specialties he found himself spending less time with Loki, and considerably more time with Bruce and Thor, both of whom were focused on summoning. So naturally, the weekend called for a remedy of that very grievous issue.

Tony had yet to broach the subject of Loki’s heritage with the other, but Stephen had settled down enough that he accepted Loki into their apartment without question. Tony sat on a rather comfortable stool across from his friend, with the full-sized dragon behind him acting as a back- and armrest, his head curled around to rest at Tony’s feet. They’d been mostly chatting to catch up on things, but there was no doubting that the raven-haired man’s eyes kept flitting to the red stone that sat at his throat.

“You should come to my place for tea sometime,” Loki remarked, as his eyes once again trailed to the stone. “I’d like you to meet my mother.”

“What?” Tony looked up from his coffee at that, confused. “Why?”

Frigga was many things - an excellent teacher among them - but while he’d attended her transmogrification classes when he first arrived, he’d never had a reason to speak with the woman in person. She seemed considerably more gentle than her husband, though he didn’t doubt that she could make anyone regret looking at her the wrong way.

“Because she should know the man I’m planning on marrying,” Loki responded, grinning steadily more widely as a low, threatening growl emitted from the formerly resting dragon on the floor. Stephen’s feathers poofed up a bit to make him look much larger, his eyes opening to focus on Loki in warning.

Tony pulled Stephen's head into his lap and gently ran his hand over the bridge of the drake's nose to try and settle him down. Stephen's ears flicked and his eyes slid nearly closed, his tail curling in on Tony as he shook his head.

"You really must get a kick out of harassing him," Tony rolled his eyes. "In all seriousness what would I need to speak to Frigga about?" Stephen idly nudged his face into Tony's chest, flicking his ears again as if listening to their conversation.

"Well for one, she knows a lot more about dragons, and a lot more relating to the rules of the academy that by now - no one's filled you in on apparently," Loki smiled, arill eyeing the pendant around Tony's neck.

"Mother's definitely got the missing piece to the puzzle, and I'm sure she'll have a lot to say about that thing around your neck." 

Stephen's ears flicked again, a low rumble building in his throat before Tony picked up the motions of gently stroking his crown to once again settle him down.

Tony's other hand came up to touch at the brilliant red stone on his neck, until now simply assuming it meant just as much as the rest of the jewelry that he'd received as small gestures of Stephen's appreciation, his fixation on dolling him up in golds and gems.

"Well there's no time like the present," Tony stopped smoothing Stephen's quills back and went to stand up. The drake immediately rose, still keeping his tail around Tony as he continued to eye Loki suspiciously.

"I get it now, by the way."

"Hmmm?" Loki hummed curiously.

"Why you know so much, why you have all the answers. Why you're always taunting Stephen," he grinned widely. "You should really get your own human at some point, Loki." 

The raven-haired man’s eyes narrowed sharply and he almost crushed the beer in his hand unexpectedly. "You best watch what you say, Stark." 

Tony chuckled and lead Stephen out of the apartment. "Let's go then, I’m not leaving you here alone, lord knows how much beer you'll go through." 

Loki rolled his eyes, setting the bottle down after chugging it and trailing along behind him.

“I'm serious, Stark,” Loki continued lowly as he eventually made his way to Tony’s side, opposite Stephen. “Things are changing in this school because of your summoning of Stephen, but there are reasons that I maintain this appearance. I’m certain mother will clarify things, but that knowledge in the wrong hands could be extremely dangerous.”

He gave a soft sigh at that as he started to lead them towards his home. “I expect I have you to thank for this mess, Stephen? I thought you intended to keep it to yourself.”

“It became relevant,” Stephen responded easily enough, though he cast an odd look at Loki for a moment, before tucking his wings closer into his sides. He ignored the stares as some of the students who hadn’t seen the dragon stopped to gawk.

It was a long walk to Loki’s home, but the beautiful three-story house was impossible to miss when they arrived. It sat in the middle of a large plot of land, covered in greenery and flowers and a familiar woman in a flowing gown adorned with golden armour knelt in the midst of a patch of flowers, transfiguring weeds into other flowers and not much seeming to care for the green and brown that stained her knees.

“Mother!” Loki greeted brightly, making his way into the yard ahead of them and catching Frigga’s attention quickly enough. The woman stood with a warm, aged smile, crows feet wrinkling at the corners of her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Loki in greeting, glancing past him.

“Loki, dear. You should have warned me you planned to bring guests.”

“It seemed about time, mother. Tony is, after all, wearing a dragon’s heart these days it seems,” Loki hummed, pulling back to glance at the others.

“Oh?” Frigga’s smile seemed to warm a bit, though there was something in her eyes as she fixed her gaze on Tony that felt… odd. “I suppose we should welcome them in, then, shouldn’t we? Why don’t you show them in while I clean up? Dinner should be ready in about an hour if they’d like to stay.”

"Thank you Misses Freyrdottir," Tony canted his head politely and the woman smiled. 

"Excellent pronunciation, though you need not be so formal - Frigga is fine," she winked.

"Well, come on you lot," Loki led them inside, a much more rustic and older looking interior, almost as if the place had been here right from the start of time given the type of architecture. It was old fashioned and offset by the more modern amenities which blended together rather nicely despite the clashing of time periods.

Stephen's guard seemed to lift, almost as if there was something small he was picking up on and Tony could see his drake's mannerisms adjust slightly. The house had a warm and welcoming atmosphere to it, and despite the sprawling interior which was even more expansive than it led lookers from the outside to believe, Stephen opted for shrinking himself to about Tony's size for courtesy sake.

Loki seemed to also go from the ill-mannered shit-disturber to prize child, deeming it fine enough to finally don his true form in his own place of dwelling. 

He was small, slender with dark blue-green scales and piercing jewelled aqua eyes. There were patches of dark scales and a black membrane with flecks of shimmering gold in his scales that reflected an opalescent sheen in the light.

Unlike Stephen however, Loki had hard scales and looked much younger in his full form coming up no taller than Tony's chest. He slunk around the table in the center of the kitchen, strutting around and showing off his scales, bumping into Stephen's side like another cat and brushing along the drake's quills playfully. He wedged himself between Tony and Stephen, moving in quickly and Tony couldn't help but reach out to touch the vastly different and glassy scales of the other dragon's hide.

Stephen's ears pinned back, and Tony felt the low rumble in the dream dragon's chest, but he made no other reactions. Tony assumed he restrained himself knowing full well they were the guests in this house but regardless it seemed Stephen would tolerate Loki's antics for now and Tony rewarded his companion with a gentle pat on the neck.

Loki took to Frigga’s side as she returned, though he waited at the table as Frigga finished cleaning her hands and sat down at the kitchen table.

"I take it my son's been rubbing off on you," she chuckled as she conjured a kettle and tea and served them. 

Loki took a seat on the floor next to her, his reptilian head just exposed enough from the jaw up from the underside of the table so he was peering over top. Stephen mirrored that position beside Tony and the two were like bookends.

"Well, I can't say I wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for him," Tony reached out and combed his fingers through Stephen's quills again and the drake's ears perked once more.

"I have a lot of questions, and so far Loki's the only one who’s had any sense of being able to answer them. Fury is reliable but I don't think his knowledge is specialized enough which is why I’m here, looking for some insight from you?" Tony peered over at a similarly identical pendant on Frigga's neck. "That, for one." Tony looked down at his own which warmed subtly.

“Mmm, my dragon’s heart?” The stone that settled at the hollow of Frigga’s throat was identical to his own. Where his was a pinky-red colour with a bright, star-like splash across it, hers was blue and the star-like splash was tilted at a different angle, set in a silvery setting. “Yes, I expected as much - as did Loki.”

Stephen made a soft noise at that, resting his head in Tony’s lap, though his ears still perked up over the edge of the table. They twitched when Tony spoke. “Dragon’s heart? Is that what this is…?” Tony inquired as his hand reached to touch at the piece of jewelry sitting along his collar.

“Yes, of course. They’re quite rare anywhere else in the world, you know. In fact, it’s very possible that we two are the only humans who possess them at this point…” Frigga responded softly, stroking the jewel herself before folding her hands on the table. “Do you know what it is?”

“I’m gonna be honest here, I just thought it was a really pretty stone. Stephen keeps decorating me in jewelry and gemstones, so I didn’t put a lot of thought into it until Loki kept staring at it, though unlike the rest of my jewelry this one doesn’t seem to have a clasp so… I can’t really take it off.”

“No, of course not,” Frigga smiled warmly, watching him carefully. “So you’re unaware of what you’ve been gifted, then. Consider its name for a moment. The stone you wear is called a dragon’s heart for a reason…”

“Is this like… Stephen, did you propose to me without even telling me?”

The dragon in his lap huffed at that, his ears twitching back a little. “No, of course not. It is quite a lot more… meaningful than that.”

“He isn’t wrong. With that said, you’re not wrong, either. He has given you his heart, Anthony. A lot of power comes with this stone because only a dragon can manifest such a jewel. These stones are the physical manifestation of a dragon’s love,” she explained as her fingers reached to touch the stone at her throat again.

“Did… Loki…?”

The green and blue dragon looked affronted at that. “Absolutely not. I love my mother, but not at all like that!”

The room was silent for a moment as Tony processed the thoughts, acknowledging that it represented a very particular kind of love in that case - and he knew well enough that Stephen loved him. How a dragon’s love compared to a human’s love he didn’t know, but there was clearly something more to it. “Loki’s… father then? Odin?”

“Odin is not Loki’s father, and he is not a dragon,” Frigga offered a slightly crooked smile at that. “Nor is Odin old enough to be Loki’s father. No, Laufey was once my own familiar, before dragons were banned from this realm-”

“Hold up, that would make you… what… like, over a hundred years old? And if you’ll forgive my saying, ma’am, you barely look over forty.”

“What an astute observation,” Frigga responded wryly. “Indeed, I am nearly one hundred and fifty years old.”

“A spell?”

“In a manner, but not the kind of spell you’re thinking. This,” her hand tapped the stone, “is the essence of a dragon. Despite that Laufey cannot be with me anymore, he is with me in his own ways. Through Loki, and through his heart. The stone bestows power upon those who have been freely given them - and a curse upon those who would take them forcefully or through trickery. Part of that power is an extension of life. Dragons are extremely long-lived creatures, your own Stephen is… well, dear, how old are you if I might ask?”

Stephen shrugged a little at that, giving a soft whistling noise as he considered. “Nearly twenty-five hundred human years, I expect,” he answered after a moment, and the world felt like it was spinning around Tony much faster.

“You’re a cradle robber,” he accused the dragon playfully, reaching to stroke his ears.

“You called to me, my summoner, not the other way around.”

“I’m a grave robber,” Tony amended.

Stephen's ears flicked, his quills fanning out and Tony grabbed his face and wrapped his arms around it for a moment, staring down at the mark on Stephen's face and petting the short feathers there.

The drake whistled softly and contently in his lap, resting his chin back on Tony's legs as he closed his eyes.

He finally stopped, a notable contemplation on his face as he considered Frigga's words.

"If Laufey was sent away, then why not Stephen?" Stephen's ears pinned subtly but Tony raked his fingers over his crest for reassurance. "I mean, I wouldn't want anything to ever happen to him," Tony looked down with a smile, "but why was he not sent away when he was discovered?"

"Times change, and with them the old ways as well. Laufey was not stable in part, and there were other factors as to why he couldn't stay. While the school's principles were founded on the very connection between dragons and humans - they are simply easily manipulated, humans and dragons alike, by each other's ways. I'm sensing you didn't know the gravity of your actions when you first conjured your lovely friend here," Frigga smiled, and Loki's tail idly curled around her chair, but in no way to beckon any physical contact.

"You picked the right place to dabble in these sorts of things, and don't think your actions have gone un-evaluated by the faculty, and so far many have spoken in high praise of your accomplishments, Anthony." Tony seemed confused, humbled and slightly afraid at the same time.

"So what makes me - us - so different then?" Tony ran his fingers through Stephen's crest, absently playing with his long ears.

"It's no secret to anyone what you have in your chest, it would seem your curse is your greatest blessing. Familiars crave nothing more than pure, arcane energy. That reactor in your chest is a beacon, which I can only imagine is why my son was drawn to you," she laughed softly and Loki lowered his head sheepishly.

"You're a magnet, inevitably, but not only that, you are this generation's prime talent. You also have the knowledge and capacity for greatness, and many of the faculty sees that in you - which is why they are allowing you that academic dispensation for the meantime.

"Laufey was untamed, wild. He still is, and I still love him but he is not fit to reside here for simply that reason. There was, once upon a time another dragon, he went by the name of Dormammu. He was a dream dragon much like your Stephen here. But when his mate passed his own heart fell into the wrong hands and so his own desires were perverted by the very human nature he so desired to protect. It really is a sad story, which is why your lovely dragon here must be on his best behaviour on academy grounds. I'm sure even he has warned you of Fury's sentinels that watch the grounds, there is so much more at play here than any - even advanced student - could possibly imagine," she smiled sadly.

"Even the very storms here in the mountains are at the whims of greater forces that we cannot control."

Stephen’s head lifted from Tony’s lap to settle on the woman across from him. “How did she die?” he asked quite suddenly, the first time he’d spoken since they’d arrived. Frigga didn’t seem taken aback by that, though her eyes sharpened as she focused on the dragon.

“Are you certain you want the answer to that?” she inquired carefully, and Stephen grumble.

“I would not have asked if I did not want the answer.”

Frigga sighed at that, closing her eyes for a moment before settling her gaze not on Stephen, but on Tony. “Someone stole her dragon’s heart.”

“Sorry, this might be a dumb question but uh… how does stealing that… kill exactly?” Tony piped up, looking between his very alert and serious-looking summon, and the woman across from them.

“You said it yourself, there’s no fastening on your collar, is there? There’s no way to take it off… so how does one steal it if it is fastened there…?” Frigga prompted, and Tony felt his stomach twist.

“... they beheaded her?” he inquired in a whisper, hating even saying it.

“They took her head and paraded it around,” Frigga nodded. “They anticipated they would have full control over her dragon - and for a short time they did, until his fury and indignance boiled over. We believe that was around the time the world began to crack.”

“Their ends were admittedly rather unpleasant, and entirely deserved,” Loki chimed from his spot. “It was a merciless finale to their lives.”

"My dreams are inevitably plagued by a dragon, when Stephen isn't around I'm haunted by its geist, the same repetitious nightmare over and over again, something that dwells deep in the heart of Centralia itself surrounded by an army of death and decay embodied," Tony mentioned thoughtfully, the pieces of the puzzle began to slide into place slowly.

"If there really has only been one other documented dream drake in this era, then it makes sense that the one riddling my dreams is Dormammu, given my proximity and ties," Tony stopped stroking Stephen's crest and the drake's ears twitched.

"To think that he was simply a victim of circumstance..." Tony mumbled softly, genuinely feeling for the entity that seemed to torment him nightly when unguarded by his own dragon.

"It is quite tragic. When those that sought to control him failed, he, in turn, sought to rule over his own rulers. The suspected reason for the split in the ley-lines isn't simply the product of an environmental phenomenon but the incarnation of misery within a creature with boundless power. Dragons manifested from the fabric of dreams hold a power no others have. They can play with the very strands of reality, and shape it to their will - gods in their own making if they see their own potential," Frigga vouched softly.

"Dormammu is the first dream drake and the first nightmare drake. A manifestation of his own making. He's simply a soul that has yet to be put to rest, and he's slowly been tearing this world asunder in hopes he gains back what he'd once lost."

"And how do you know so much about him? Dragons are a rarity," Tony inquired softly.

"Dragons are summons too, and there is no shortage of love when it comes to the bond between a summoner and their familiar. There's a deep sorrow that resonates from the shattered forest, a nearly insurmountable loss that eventually turned into an insatiable hunger for vengeance."

Tony went quiet, his fingers lightly turning into Stephen's feathers with the message.

“We were lovers once,” Stephen stated quietly as he rested his head in Tony’s lap again. “I thought nothing would separate us and when he answered her summons… I thought I had learned what it meant to lose. But he never fully returned, even in my attempts to speak with him, to calm him, he would not listen. His rage was not only turned on humanity but on hopes and dreams themselves.”

“Is… is that how you manage to keep him at bay in my nightmares?” Tony questioned lowly, and he felt the distinct change in the other as the large feathered head shook.

“He would tear me limb from limb were he able,” Stephen responded. “He would not hold back. I have already learned that lesson and paid for my attempts. No. I am able to hold him back because of your innate power giving me further strength.”

“And now, it seems, he has bestowed some of his own power back on you,” Frigga stated calmly. “Your life span will be extended, your ability to wield magic enhanced, your ability to communicate with him. That stone will tie you two together far tighter than any wedding ring would.”

Tony stared down at the head in his lap, smoothing back the feathers, when he stopped, the drake nudged into his stomach and finally opened his eyes.

"This is all so hard to imagine," Tony mumbled softly, he felt the heart around his neck heat up and he tapped it lightly eliciting a soft grumble from the dragon in his lap. He then turned to Frigga and smiled.

"Thank you, I think I've got all the answers I need. I don't think I'll inconvenience you any further.”

Frigga smiled softly. "Are you sure? Dinner is almost ready, surely you've grown peckish?" There was a soft bray from the other side of the table as Loki opened his maw to let out a harsh noise in protest to their company.

"I'm sure Loki would miss the company too." Stephen let out a large puff of air in protest but Tony nodded softly. 

"Only if you insist, we don't mean to be an inconvenience on you."

“Hardly. Odin will be away this weekend, and Thor sent word shortly before you two arrived that he’d be having dinner with his boyfriend,” Frigga smiled warmly. “So I already have too much just for myself and Loki. How long has it been since you had a home-cooked meal, anyway?”

“A… long time, to be honest,” Tony admitted, glancing down at the dragon in his lap. “What do you think, wanna stay for some mom food?”

“I am not certain what that is,” Stephen admitted, looking up at his summoner without moving his head. “Is it good?”

“Mother’s cooking is extraordinary,” Loki chimed cheerfully from the other side of the table, taking a moment to shift his shape briefly. “Can I do anything to help?”

“Just entertain your friends, and please stop trying to harass the poor dragon, Loki.”

“Yes, Loki. Please,” Tony smirked playfully at the man across the table, who returned the smirk easily enough.

“Oh don’t start, Stark.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	9. Chapter 9

Needless to say, the talk with Frigga had been nothing short of enlightening. There were some things Tony and Stephen had each figured out about one another, maybe Tony more so than Stephen but the more the engineer found out about his beloved summon the more he found himself attracted to him and what the beautiful talisman around his neck stood for.

Tony made efforts to show his appreciation for Stephen, and that included even wearing some of the jewellery he was gifted to bed when it wasn't uncomfortable and demanding Stephen's closeness whenever the drake assumed that he needed some sort of space.

He was smitten with his familiar, and it was harder to deny by the day, despite him not wanting to even consider that prior. There was a newfound appreciation for his companion and he treasured him in all forms since understanding the true meaning behind the dragon's heart pendant he'd been gifted.

"We need to go talk to Selvig today, it’s the first day of setting up the research project," Tony mumbled, rolling around in bed and tackling Stephen down, attempting to pin the fluffy drake underneath him.

There were paws in his face, and Stephen attempted to grapple his summoner as Tony dodged away from his grasp attempting to jump on his back.

“What is all this?” the dragon huffed some as he swivelled his head around to look at Tony. “I thought you said we needed to talk to Selvig - this is rather counter-productive to that.”

“You, sir, are a ruiner of fun,” Tony pouted at him, curling his arms around the back of the dragon’s neck before nestling in a bit as he stroked the feathers downwards. 

He couldn’t preen Stephen the way the dragon could, but he was definitely getting the hang of helping the dragon straighten out his feathers at least, and it meant getting to fidget with the soft, down feathers.

And they were  _ soft. _

They made an excellent pillow, and as much as he enjoyed the idea of cuddling up against the toned pectorals of Stephen’s human form.

“I thought you would want to get to this project swiftly. It seems very much like something you are interested in pursuing, it has been for a while so I am surprised you are feeling so… playful,” Stephen laid himself down along the bed and allowed Tony to straighten some of the feathers that were ruffled while they slept with a contented purr.

Tony continued to run his hands along the azure feathers, and Stephen rolled onto his back, spreading his wings out,  _ half undoing  _ the grooming work Tony had started undertaking.

"I just wanted a moment before we got going, you know..." Tony's fingers ran over the dragon's stomach affectionately as Stephen perked his ears and fluffed up from the attention. The drake rolled over suddenly, burying Tony in a chest-full of down and he rumbled contentedly at his summoner's surprised disposition.

Stephen, of course, didn't weigh enough to really cause any issue, but that didn't stop Tony from meeting a face full of feathers and trying to claw his way out from underneath in his attempts. 

He eventually surfaced, and when he did finally get a gasp of air in, he was immediately met with a big wet tongue dragging along his face. He tried to squirm away but Stephen settled his paws on either side of his Tony's shoulders.

"Hey - stop that! Okay, I give!"

"Why? You are just going to shower anyway, let me have my fun."

The summoner tried to put up his hands to block Stephen out but it was no use as his muzzle nudged and prodded at him, kissing his cheeks and neck relentlessly. Tony squirmed a bit in his spot as the large tongue ran over his throat, and he denied (and would deny until the end of the world) the odd stirring he felt as the tongue curled over the jewelry at his throat.

As he twisted in his spot to try and shove Stephen away, the dragon went to lick his face and Tony wound up with a long, wet tongue jammed down his throat for a good second before the dragon withdrew and sat himself up straight, his ears up and eyes wide. 

Tony licked his lips as he sat himself up to stare at the dragon in return, opening his mouth as though to speak before closing it again.

Stephen’s head lowered. “I… am sorry. I did not mean to… without asking…”

“Why do you always taste like cinnamon buns?” Tony inquired, embarrassed to find that he hadn’t hated the idea.

“I am not certain what a cinnamon bun is… but presumably, I taste like something you enjoy because I am manifested from your dreams.”

“That… okay, well, first of all, we need to get you cinnamon buns, but second… just…” he hesitated for a moment as he adjusted his pants a little, shifting awkwardly before reaching to stroke along the sides of Stephen’s face. “... it is absolutely not fair that you taste so good.”

“... are you asking me to kiss you again?”

"Maybe in a very subtle way I am..." Tony's fingers raked over his chin softly and Stephen pressed the pads of one of his paws to Tony's chest pushing him softly back down on the bed and leaning over him. 

"Though I can't imagine this won't lead somewhere else...." the brunette peered up at his companion.

The drake's tail flicked playfully. "And what would be the negatives of such endeavours before class? I see it is much more beneficial to you than not." Tony tapped his chin in thought.

"I can't argue with you there,  _ Fluffy. _ "

The engineer grunted softly as Stephen's head came down and he reached halfway to cup the sides of his head, Stephen hesitated a moment before he parted his muzzle and Tony in turn opened up, accepting the pinkish-purple tongue that slid past his parted lips and into his mouth.

The dragon ran a claw down his chest, and he felt his clothing shift to something more...revealing. his wrists and neck felt cold with whatever he was wearing, heavy and metal but it didn't weigh him down.

Tony had no idea what Stephen had done to his clothing, but what he did notice was the presence of feathers brushing against his chest and the soft pink pads of his forepaws trailing over his skin with equally feather-light touches while he got a mouth full of cinnamon and sugar.

Tony made a soft noise to try and question the new attire change, he had questions but the presence of a rather long dragon tongue half jammed down his throat again made that a complication.

The dragon hardly seemed to mind, though as he continued to ravish Tony’s mouth his wings flitting a bit to either side of him. It was a long moment spent sucking on the other’s tongue before there was a change. Stephen’s head became smaller - his whole body still covered in feathers though he’d taken his human form. Or a humanoid one, anyway.

Tony pulled back for a moment as he watched in some fascination looking at the feathered man that hovered above him. Stephen’s ears faced him, his tail twitching around behind him as his wings tucked up against his back, smaller and more appropriate to his form.

Soft but clawed human hands settled on Tony’s chest as the dragon smiled at him. “... is this okay?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Tony responded even as he realized his forearms had been covered in something like white silk, a silver ring set with a stone as blue as his reactor fixing the cloth to his hand and a matching cuff around his bicep, keeping the cloth in place higher up on his arm. 

“The dress-up thing…?”

“The clothes,” Stephen nodded, “this form… going any further with this… is it okay?”

Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen's neck and pulled him in close, their foreheads touching as he nuzzled against him. There was a fuzzy fleeting feeling in his stomach as he appreciated the warmth, the closeness and affection. Stephen's emotions were literally radiating off of him like a space-heater.

"I told you before Stephen, you don't need to hide for me… I appreciate you the way you are," Tony reasoned softly, the soft feathers were nice against his form though, and he just as quickly owned the outfit he'd been adorned with.

"I understand that my summoner, but my form is much… different, possibly too  _ large _ for you," he smiled, and Tony went in to take the man in a heated kiss again. Tony somewhat missed the intrusive tongue down his through but this wasn't any step below what he'd been engaging in before.

Stephen was completely nude, still donning human genitalia and he was more than  _ stimulated _ based on the handful in his palm when he reached down and grasped along Stephen's hardened prick. Tony gently stroked him, an arm around the drake's neck who rumbled softly into his mouth.

"I guess I'll just have to work my way up the ladder until I can actually  _ handle _ a  _ full-sized drake, _ " Tony joked and adorably, Stephen seemed to miss the cadence.

"That would be… ill-advised for you, my summoner, any human in fact..." But that didn't mask the stutter in Stephen's voice which Tony picked up on.

"We'll see about that now," Tony grinned and gave Stephen a lively squeeze, evoking a moan out of the drake.

“You are… more  _ eager _ than I anticipated,” Stephen grumbled out softly, trailing a kiss over his cheek before nipping and nibbling at his neck attentively. 

“You are certain this… is what you want?”

“Stephen, I swear if you don’t do this I’ll go fuck Loki,” Tony retorted and was met with a rather immediate and possessive growl as Stephen pinned his shoulders down and gave him a serious look.

“Are you threatening me, summoner? Now of all times?”

“Just suggesting that you might want to lay your claim before someone else does,” Tony responded cheekily. Stephen’s eyes narrowed on him for a moment before his head bent back down and the dragon’s teeth dragged along his neck, working his skin to leave what Tony knew was going to be a hell of a mark.

The dragon’s fingers moved between his legs to prod at his entrance, covered in an odd, thick layer of something like jelly that was cool and tingly without being cold - something that reminded him a little bit of peppermint, really - and Tony’s hand was dislodged as a finger slipped in, eliciting a soft groan from the summoner.

“That’s… much better,” Tony murmured lowly, his fingers running into the fluffy hair atop the man’s head. Stephen didn’t respond verbally, given his mouth was still thoroughly occupied with marking every available inch of his summoner’s flesh.

Whatever was on the dragon’s fingers worked to protect him from the claws on the tips of Stephen’s digits apparently and as soft and gooey as it was it did a great job of easing each finger inside of him. Stephen prodded and massaged at the muscles inside of him, helping to stretch and relax him with a second slick finger slipping in shortly after.

“You are  _ mine _ summoner,” Stephen stated lowly, a deliciously thick layer of lust and possessiveness darkening his tone, “I am not sharing you. Least of all with another dragon.”

"That's what I like to hear, I'd expect no less from the most important person in my life," Tony grinned and Stephen seemed to emphasize his words by digging his fingers in further, knuckle deep until he was just about lifting Tony's ass off of the ground from the pressure.

The engineer let out a loud moan, letting the drake have his way. He clawed and clambered for something to hold onto, gripping the scruff of feathers that trailed down the other's spine in his half humanoid state.

Stephen seemed to waste no time and despite it truly being their first time it seemed as if there was an urgency with the drake, and when Tony felt his rather well-endowed girth replace the fingers that were previously there, he gasped, eyes rolling back into his head as he melted underneath the other man.

Tony's arms weakened around Stephen's neck as the drake continued to push. He was larger and longer than he'd expected, leaving Tony gasping and groaned into the air until Stephen had fully seated himself in him. His hips connected with Tony's and the engineer struggled to grasp onto him, eyes a little fuzzy from the unexpected surge of pleasure.

Stephen fanned out his wings around them, a show of dominance and posture as he leaned down, going back in for Tony's neck again, this time leaving deeper marks within his skin that pricked sharply and felt like they drew blood.

"Care to offer any more challenging remarks to me, summoner?" Stephen growled into his neck, and Tony felt every part of that reverberating through his entire body. 

He was silenced by it, struggling to even find the words to respond as Stephen bucked his hips, drawing out a choked groan.

"Fuck me," he responded finally, "Gods, fuck me so hard I won't be able to walk," he heaved, eyes shut tightly.

“As you wish,” Stephen was more than happy to oblige as he rammed his hips again into Tony's, kicking up a feral and maddening pace.

The dragon held him tightly, hands settling on Tony’s hips to control each movement, and with each thrust, the air was ripped unceremoniously from his lungs. He could vaguely feel the press of the dragon’s claws into his hips, and he wasn’t certain if the other had pierced his skin and blood was trickling over his thighs or if it was sweat, but Stephen’s pace left no real room for questioning.

He wasn’t wasting any time and the moment Tony cried out as his prostate was struck, he briefly witnessed a little smirk on Stephen’s lips. 

He knew why shortly after as each hard thrust hit his prostate mercilessly, leaving Tony to whimper and writhe in the dragon’s hold. Stephen’s moans were low and quiet, and the summoner felt them more than he actually heard them - a deep vibration that built through his chest, hanging in the air between them with every gasp Tony snuck in.

“Stephen,” he whimpered some as his hands moved to hold the other against him firmly. “Stephen…”

“What do you need… my silva?” Stephen inquired lowly between deep breaths, his lips brushing over the tender and abused skin along Tony’s neck.

“Just… you,” Tony responded as he held tighter, fingers curling into Stephen’s back firmly, digging into feathers as he felt his muscles begin to tense, his orgasm building low in his belly.

As the engineer's body tensed, Stephen refused to let up. He plowed into Tony's poor abused ass, hips slamming into his skin with a harsh thwap, wet and visceral.

Tony made no efforts to contain his cries of pleasure and Stephen seemed to lap each and every one of them up like a drug. His cock twitched anxiously, precum drooling from the tip of his cock all over his immaculately white attire.

There was another heavy thrust and Tony let out a long moan, clenching around Stephen's cock and it was near close to a seizure the way the poor summoner reacted. 

His entire body went stiff, eyes rolling back, back arching and Stephen ran his fingers over his offered chest as Tony splashed his familiar's front with hot cum, dribbling over his own belly as he drained himself in both the physical and metaphorical sense, turning to a boneless heap underneath his lover.

Tony cried out, his cry fading to a pathetic mewl as he felt the drake continue to mercilessly thrust into him before claws tensed and there soon followed a warmth filling the inside of him - more than he would expect for the dragon's current size.

Tony was still panting, and Stephen caged his body as he collapsed on top of him burying his face in Tony's neck and he relished in the soft sensations of down-soft feathers rubbing against his chest.

"I love you, my silva..." the drake rumbled, squeezing him, and Tony weakly cracked an eye open at that. 

"S-silva...?" Tony barely managed to question.

"My love, my all, my everything. There is no direct translation for the word in your human tongue, but it embodies the feeling of it all," he purred affectionately.

“Sometimes… you’re impossibly sweet,” the summoner responded as he lay his head back into the pillows, taking a few deep breaths as his body still continued to shudder now and then. Stephen didn’t move away, holding him close and gently stroking the side of his neck with a contented smile.

“Are claims of ownership and love sweet?” he inquired softly, pressing a couple of gentle kisses to his neck. “Because you are very much covered in them.” 

Crystalline eyes looked at him with more love than Tony had been blessed with since his mother had passed. Stephen looked at him like he was a treasure, something precious and invaluable, a wealth beyond name. His forehead pressed gently to Tony’s and he brushed his lips against the brunettes lips, not a kiss, but something like it.

“I adore you and everything about you,” Stephen stated quietly.

“I got that impression,” Tony tried to fight the little smile on his lips - if only for the sake of gathering his breath again properly - but the smile won out. 

It was hard to explain the happiness he felt, perhaps it was something Stephen was sharing with him somehow? Perhaps Stephen’s emotions were somehow radiating out from between them to warm Tony’s heart and soul? 

He couldn’t rightly say.

Stephen stole a short, soft kiss before he slowly sat up, not pulling out yet as he openly admired Tony’s prone form. 

“Mm, I would keep you here all day if the choice were mine. However, I believe we have places to be…”

Tony groaned, eyes closed as he heaved underneath Stephen's body, sweat running down his brow.

"You know we can't do that, and we might already be running late," he panted softly and Stephen seemed to drink in his struggling as he looked back up at the humanoid.

"Very well, but this is surely not over, my summoner… I plan to treat you highly enough that you would never consider that beast-of-a-creature for any release," Stephen poked his nose into the air, holding it high.

"Stephen… You aren't seriously threatened by him, are you...? You do know I was joking about all of that, right? I just wanted you to get to the chase. If anything, Loki is less interested in getting together with me and more interested in trying to get closer to you, at least that's what it feels like," Tony mumbled and he tugged Stephen back in and clutched him to him tightly.

Stephen snorted softly. 

"To honour your wishes, my silva, we should clean up and get ready for your class," Stephen finally pulled out, and Tony shivered as a trail of cooling cum dripped down his thighs.

"You're more than welcome to help with the process..." Tony joked, haughtily.

"How inconsiderate of me!" Stephen grinned, crawling back and shoving his face in between Tony's legs - honestly the last thing he expected from his familiar.

“Stephen what…?” the words were cut off by a low moan as the dragon’s tongue buried itself inside of him as though to clean up the mess he’d made. 

Stephen’s clawed hands held tight to Tony’s hips to keep him in place even as the already wasted summoner attempted to wiggle himself free. “Oh fuck… Stephen that’s… that’s not what I meant at all! I don’t have time to…”

Protesting was hard. 

He was still recovering from their earlier session, and the image of the dragon’s ears perking up from between his legs where the other’s face was buried was in no way helping. He was sensitive, and yet somehow the stirrings of arousal burned through him regardless.

He didn’t have time for another round, but dammit he couldn’t very well stop the dragon, especially as he felt the tongue slowly delve deeper inside.

“Stephen… this… is really not fair…” he whined, and Stephen sat up, licking his lips with a thoroughly contented expression.

“Not fair? You asked me to help you clean up… I thought this was what you meant…”

“You’re lying. You’re just being a little shit. Don’t think I don’t know better,” Tony grumbled at him. He could hardly stay angry with the other though, as Stephen’s tongue ran over the mess of his stomach slowly. “You’re trying to start something again, aren’t you? You’re insatiable! I can’t believe you!”

Stephen’s eyes glanced up at him as he continued his cleaning, pulling up only slightly with a little smirk.

If it was at all possible Tony was in even more shambles than before, and only saw his reprieve when his thighs felt no longer cold from the caked cum on the insides but the cold trial of saliva left behind by Stephen's 'clean up session'.

Tony managed to push himself up, likewise pulling Stephen up and tugged him off the bed with some effort. Though his legs were weak, he leaned onto the dragon as his knees buckled from lack of use and he tried to hobble over to the basin to clean himself off.

Stephen assisted him towards the bath, Tony's outfit dissolving as he helped the man into the piping hot water. He hopped in beside him, pulling his summoner into his lap and tucked his chin over Tony's shoulder.

"Time is a factor here..." Tony mumbled softly.

"This I know, but I can tell you do not want to abide by it, and I am more than happy to tempt you." Tony let out a frustrated sigh, leaning back into his drake and relaxing as he felt those clawed hands running over his body.

"You could have used prestidigitation..." he turned around, suddenly realizing.

Stephen only grinned. "Could have, but did not - what will you do about it, my silva?"

"Complain about how I'm -  _ we _ are - going to be late," Tony whined softly.

"Only by a couple of minutes, I will see to that."

True to his word the two were cleaned up and in Selvig’s advanced class before the man had locked the doors off. That might have been because Tony was the only person who showed up, however.

Selvig smiled.

“Running late, I see?”

“I will take the entirety of the blame,” Stephen offered, and Selvig said nothing, looking between the two of them.

“I expected more people, are we still waiting?” Tony inquired after a moment. He knew Stephen had put some sort of illusion on his neck to cover up the mess he’d made of it, but he found himself self-conscious of the professor’s stare regardless.

“No, Stark. You’re the only student in this class and for good reason,” Selvig stated, his pointed reaching out to prod at Tony’s chest some, leaving Stephen to fluff up a little defensively - to his credit he didn’t growl or move at all, he simply made himself look considerably larger.

“What…? This? Why?”

“You have knowledge of your own that no other student has had. You have insight. Your reactor is proof of your unique knowledge on this subject.”

“What… does he mean? What does your reactor have to do with this project? With the leylines?” Stephen inquired, looking to the summoner thoughtfully.

"It is exactly what ties you to the leylines. This might actually allow you to traverse closer to our locations than any other. We are quite confident that with your reactor you will easily tolerate being in close proximity of locations our researchers deem considerably unsafe, due to the types and intensity of arcane energy that uniquely resonates from your very person." 

Tony looked down. 

People seemed to be overplaying his reactor nowadays and he started to question whether his reactor was speaking more for him than his own knowledge and abilities.

There was a silence before he nodded.

"Sorry for the tardiness Doctor Selvig, it won't happen next time," Tony tried to brush it off but the teacher donned a broad smile regardless.

"Not to worry Stark, we have a lot to do. I hope you've packed and gotten ready, we will be setting off today, or at least you will." Tony looked a little confused as he glanced from Stephen to his professor.

"I don't think I was informed, what's going on?"

"Ah, my apologies. I tend to get so wrapped up in these things. You will be doing fieldwork, starting by visiting the points of convergence with the leylines and taking some geological readings to try and get to the bottom of the most recent anomalies.

"You're talking about the recent hurricane that struck over the North-West?"

"Exactly, it is the middle of winter yet we are seeing such drastic and volatile climate change, the first time ever, in recorded history that is," Selvig nodded to follow him and Tony was right behind him with Stephen.

“Given your time working at Stark Industries and what I understand happened with the accident, I believe that your skills and knowledge at this point, when tempered and with the appropriate equipment, and perhaps a little guidance from your summon, will grant you a better time understanding these readings than almost anyone else. 

“Dragons are particularly sensitive to leylines, and I have a hunch that if you visit each of the Sanctums ahead of time, Stephen may be well attuned to finding the two that are lost beneath the waves,” Selvig rambled as he continued to lead the duo down a hallway and into a rather large workshop that might’ve doubled as a lab, if Tony knew his labs. And Tony definitely knew labs.

“What am I looking for by looking at these things?”

“Irregularities. I’ll send you with the prior documentation for the areas we’re familiar with, but the lost ones… it’ll be important to see what the convergence points that haven’t been cared for might look like. The Sanctums have people there to prevent things from getting too hectic, and have for decades. Something’s not adding up, however.”

"Wait, so if none of us have any idea where the last two Sanctums are then how exactly are we going to get there?"

"I can take us there, as Selvig mentioned. As long as I can measure at least one of the fonts of power above the world I can find the rest. They are all the same energy that connects at the heart of the planet, likewise to the dream realm. But that signature is different than on your world as its branches are buried deep in the fabric of reality. I do not even need a visual but I have seen Atlantis many times just not… here," Stephen canted his head and nudged Tony's shoulder lightly.

"I will be glad to get us to the first Sanctum," Selvig grabbed a satchel that clanked around, seemingly filled with some devices. 

"You will take these Telemancy beacons to the lost temples, this will allow us to re-navigate freely to and from them, and also make travel easier for you overall."

Stephen seemed to scoff at the idea of using technology to travel but Tony nodded. "Oh lay off, not all of us have thousands of years of spellcasting knowledge under our belt like you," he playfully shoved Stephen in the shoulder and the pendant around his neck heated up, vibrating softly around his collar.

“Are we going now, then?” Stephen sighed a bit, tilting his head, and Tony paused to look at Selvig.

“How long are we going to be gone?”

“Oh, yes, of course, you may want to pack. The whole thing is likely to take you well over two weeks. Your teachers have been made aware - Pym and Fury both agree that this is the perfect task for you, and will grade you on your performance in this as a replacement for your classes. You may earn extra credits as well, depending on how well you do.”

A portal opened to his side, and Tony took a long moment to stare at it before looking back at Selvig, who simply smiled. 

“Off you go. Pack up. Get ready. We should be heading out in approximately half an hour. Everything’s about ready to go here, and if you need longer than that to pack up then you’ll just have to buff up your wardrobe on your trip.”

Tony glanced at Stephen, before stepping through the portal to the entry of his apartment, opening the door and heading in with Stephen on his heels.

“This is… not at all what I expected from all of this,” Tony stated with a small frown. “I didn’t think I was the only one going.”

“It seems important,” Stephen hummed, “and the leylines relate to the shattered forest - you cannot tell me that you are not at least a little bit excited about this?”

“Excited… a little, I guess. But also anxious. Atlantis… that was lost even before what happened to Centralia, and before the sickness. The temple of Watoomb barely has any records about it at all - there are questions as to whether there’s even a temple on the site, or if Watoomb was a man who simply built his house there.”

“Can a house not be a temple?”

"You've got a point," Tony responded rather blandly and Stephen whistled softly.

"The house, or temple, regardless is built overtop of the ley line node itself, it serves as any other structure despite the building's double purpose." Tony started rooting through his things, reaching for one of his light duffles and packing into it a couple changes of clothing, change of underwear and a few other hygiene essentials for on the go.

Stephen stuck his face into the bag to see what he was packing which resulted in a few pieces of clothing being tossed onto the dragon's head, effectively landing on the tops of his ears. 

The dragon did look both cute and hilarious with one of Tony's scarves hanging off of him. Tony stepped over, slipping it around the dragon's neck for fun. 

A simple crimson wool scarf with some gold accents on it was tied around Stephen's collar over his ornate silver neckpiece and Tony stood back while he tilted his head inquisitively back and forth.

"It suits you!" Tony grinned and he went to take it back. Stephen smirked and pulled away, running around the room to escape Tony.

"It is obviously mine now, no take-backs." Tony rolled his eyes. 

"You do know what's mine is yours anyway," Tony tackled the dragon and he brayed in surprised while simply giving him a squeeze around the neck and leaving the scarf there.

Stephen bumped the side of his face with his snout before the magus got back up again, counting his bag's contents before slinging it over his shoulder and nodding.

Truth be told he didn't need to pack much with the access he had to Stephen's magic, at any point they could simply portal home or clean his clothes effortlessly. Tony threw on his coat and another scarf then turned back to Stephen and nodded.

"Ready?"

Stephen gave a little hum at that and in a moment the red cloak Stephen often wore in human form settled over his back. The dragon shifted his form to one that was plainly more human in appearance, though the scarf settled around his neck still and the cloak flared out behind him.

“I think I am ready.”

“What’s all this? Are you trying to distract me?” Tony responded, giving the man an appreciative once-over.

“Is it working?” Stephen smirked, before shaking his head. “I assumed that dragons are not common elsewhere in the world. This form may be more subtle and less likely to cause uncalled for issues between you and those overseeing the Sanctums.”

“So… a really hot disguise?” Tony inquired as he moved to adjust the scarf around Stephen’s neck. It really did suit him. “Not the worst plan, though if I have to fight people off of you we’re not going to get any work done.”

“Are you anticipating that you will need to fight people off of me, my silva?” Stephen’s smirk grew into a pointed grin.

“Honestly? I might.”

Tony smoothed his palms over the red fabric, tenderly fussing over Stephen's appearance like he was trying to perfect the man even more. Quit comically the cloak raised it's tiny golden broaches up and patted Tony's hands, trying to smooth the magus in return.

It waved its little corners and Tony leaned in to give the cloak a gentle peck. It curled up bashfully in response.

Stephen tilted his head in confusion. 

"Did you miss or were you intending to flirt with my cloak?" Tony raised a sly grin to Stephen and the dragon almost looked flustered and huffy immediately.

"So what if I was giving your cloak a kiss?" Tony started and Stephen leaned forward and took his lips to steal back the kiss he was so rightfully entitled to.

"Do not make me leave it behind." The cloak shrank a little.

"How could you be jealous of a cloak!"

"Because it is plenty sly enough to take you to dinner and flirt with you. I am not joking," Stephen looked down at the corner as it papped his cheek and Tony only chuckled softly.

“You’re adorable when you’re jealous, you know that?” Tony teased softly. Stephen simply sniffed and waved a hand to open a portal back into the Telemancy professor’s lab.

“I am ready to go if you are,” the dragon stated as he wandered through the portal without waiting for Tony, and the summoner grinned to himself as he hopped through afterwards.

“Ah! Good! If everyone’s ready… I imagine you haven’t been to the Sanctums before, have you?” Selvig inquired without even looking at them, busily stuffing bags full of things. He looked up and gave Stephen’s form a quizzical look for a moment, before glancing at Tony. “How do you expect to carry all the equipment?”

“Despite appearances, I can still carry whatever is needed, Professor,” Stephen stated clearly. “I am an adept telekinetic.”

“Good, good. When you return, please do come straight here. You know this location now so I assume you can teleport in without too much trouble?”

Tony looked between the two for a moment, wincing. “I’ve never managed to teleport even to the foot of the mountain and back, I’m not sure if I can manage something further?”

“As long as I have seen a place, I can port there and back without issue,” Stephen reassured. “But I have not seen these places we are meant to go to as you said. So reaching them is going to be more challenging than anything…”

“Where the Sanctums are I can send you, so it shouldn’t be an issue,” Selvig waved a hand dismissively, “it’ll be Atlantis and Watoomb that are going to be more troublesome.”

Tony picked up his duffle and Stephen made ease of moving the Telemancy beacons and other equipment without needing to even lift a finger. The items hovered above the ground and he nodded to Selvig.

"I guess that's it, we should be good," Tony looked to his companion and Stephen nodded. Selvig immediately raised his hands to conjure a rift in the air, a swirling ethereal amber portal that showed the destination they were headed to on the other side. It deposited them outside of the building.

"You will have to find your way into the building and to the central chamber from here. There should be Sanctum attendants to help you out as soon as you get there." Selvig explained, and Stephen moved the equipment through the portal, stepping through and looking over his shoulder to Tony as the magus followed. "It's been a while since I've been to the Sanctum, I don't have a clear picture to directly port you into the chamber through memory alone.

"Should you have any issues I will be right here through the communicators, I can come and retrieve you immediately but there shouldn't be any trouble. Good luck, Tony!" Selvig smiled widely and when the engineer stepped through the portal closed behind him and Tony looked at the space where the portal once was, a little unnerved at that moment that their way home was closed.

"Do not fret, I can get us back home," Stephen reassured and nodded towards the temple grounds.


	10. Chapter 10

A large courtyard spanned roughly an acre in front of them, with a sharp cliff to the right. Peering over the wall that kept him from tumbling over the cliff, Tony could see a stone staircase descending the side of the cliff to various ledges below, but only so far as a foggy mist seemed to hang over the whole area obscuring visibility in a pale shroud. 

At the top of the staircase sat a decrepit looking building tucked into the back of the lot, looking as distinctly ominous as a shadow in the haze.

Stephen escorted Tony through an archway that might have been considered a work of art at one point if it had been tended to in the last decade, but now the trees cut across the pathway making it necessary to duck and shuffle past some of the branches while Stephen maneuvred others out of the way to blaze their trail.

“This can’t be right,” Tony grumbled a bit as they exited the archway and into the large courtyard. 

Broken slabs of stone that had been part of a proper pathway once, were now cast aside by thick tree roots, and much of the path itself was hidden away beneath a thick layer of rotting wet foliage that felt soggy beneath his feet and nearly gave way here and there as he tread, making the path itself treacherous.

Stephen’s arm settled around his waist to help support him on the uneven path and the dragon glanced at him. 

“I should hope this is not right. There is something about this place that seems…”

“Creepy as shit? Like it’s been abandoned since time immemorable? Which isn’t possible because this was totally being manned by people in Selvig’s lifetime, wasn’t it? Presumably in the last decade, at least?” Tony supplied as he shuddered a bit, leaning into Stephen to try and keep himself balanced.

“This place literally looks haunted. I am awake, right? You’re the dream dragon, I would assume you’d know…”

“I am afraid you are indeed awake. But do be careful about what you touch. This place is… sickly and there are things here that ought not to be here… some are called by the errant magic of this place.”

“Thank you captain spooky pants, I did not need all that,” Tony shuddered a bit. “Let’s just… get inside, see if we can find the keepers and-”

“There is nothing alive here,” Stephen stated simply, and the former feeling of eeriness became a sharp gleam of horror.

“... what… do you mean by that? You said there were things here…”

Trees and branches had overtaken the place, books on the floor in front of bookshelves clearly unearthed by roots which errantly displaced them. Shattered tiles and broken trim with the faint chorus of squatting birds up near the roof and window ledges of the foyer.

"I sense no magic in this place that has been touched by human influence, it's simply all wild, unruly." 

Stephen took the lead. He made the first step into the foyer of the massive building, which was lit with sunlight and oddly dispersed by the surrounding mist, filtering through the room and illuminating the entirety of the first floor. Though anything unkissed by the glow of the day remained ominously veiled, lending the thick sheet of shadow and darkness in the building to almost feel alive. 

"The magic is here, I can sense it but… I know not where," Stephen's head snapped around as if trying to look for something.

The drake inspected the floor while Tony was drawn to a circular well in the center of the room.

Curiously, he peered down through the hollow chamber, he could hardly see anything at the bottom and as he craned his head he could vaguely see a similar-looking well on the roof where something might have streamed through it at some point.

"It is part of the font's crucible," Stephen walked up beside him and ran a paw over the stone-work. He sniffed it and looked around. 

"Normally this is where magic would be focused through, the very vein we came to find, but something is wrong on the lower levels, it is being throttled."

A couple of stones fell from the ceiling followed by dust and some birds took off from their perches on window sills high up. Tony stumbled forwards, spooked as Stephen nodded for him to follow him down towards the lower level.

He conjured up a few floating lights to guide their way, they hovered and danced around their heads as if they had a mind of their own, illuminating the dark path ahead.

"To the basement. Keep your guard up, I do not know what awaits us down there but something is definitely wrong." Tony nodded, moving in close to Stephen who offered his arm again to the summoner.

It took a little time to find the dark pathway that led towards the basement, though as they found it Tony realized that the well he’d been staring down before ran down the middle of a wide spiral staircase. Assuming the focused magic emitted some sort of light, he imagined that this pathway would’ve been brightly lit and beautiful on the path downwards, but with their footsteps echoing into the well’s center it only continued to sound unnerving.

His fingers buried themselves into the dragon’s feathers for reassurance as they descended, his eyes flitting around now and again as his own lights cast dancing shadows around the well. At times it very much appeared as though there were things moving in the darkness beyond where his light could reach, but he did his best to shake that notion off.

The stairway was long, and every time Stephen’s eyes caught the light, they seemed to flash as though reflecting it back as the dragon grumbled slightly to himself. 

Here and there the stairs were a little slippery, leaving him more than once to be caught by the back of the shirt by Stephen’s beak to keep him steady.

“Do you want to simply ride me down the stairs?” Stephen inquired lowly, and it took Tony a few minutes to realize what he meant.

“Are you going to just… fly down the center of the well and bypass the stairs entirely?”

“That is another thought,” Stephen hummed his approval. “Not my original one, but I am certain it is a route we could take if you wish.”

“I’d really like to be off these stairs, to be honest with you. So whether you want me to just sit on your back and let you do all the walking, or… take a short trip down the well itself.”

The stairs leading down seemed oddly labyrinthian, broken up by corridors and plateaus which they needed to navigate through before descending to the next sets below. Tony debated for a moment before he clambered onto Stephen's back with a nod and the drake descended the steps. 

"Let's take it carefully, we don't know what's lurking in the dark and I'd rather go slow than jump down some hollow well where we don't know what's lurking at the bottom." Tony's fingers curled into the feathers on Stephen's shoulders and he held tightly to his companion. 

Stephen nodded his head, his quills almost catching the glow of the lights he'd summoned as the area got darker, giving the dragon a vague iridescence in the dark depths.

The air thickened and grew murky to a point where even with the light it was hard to see, almost as if there was a fog obscuring their vision. 

Tony pressed in tighter as Stephen continued despite how hard it was to see, and the sound of Stephen's nails clicking against the cobbled stone was the only indicator that they were still on solid ground.

After a moment the fog seemed to let up a bit, and the darkness was replaced with a vibrant magenta light that the dark particles in the air collected and veiled from the chamber above.

"This is an irregular fog, it is almost like smoke," Stephen mumbled, his ears perked acutely and frills twitching defensively as he kept his guard up.

"How is it… down here?"

"I do not know," Stephen narrowed his eyes. "I am sure we will find our answer soon..."

As they breached the fog, the bottom of the well was visible and what he saw made his eyes go wide.

In the center of the well was a smaller pool, pure arcane energy fed into a crystal suspended in the air above the pond. There were large black parasitic looking mass webbed over the mouth of the smaller opening in the bottom and covering the top of the crystal, looking as if it were siphoning off of it.

"There," Tony nodded, "it almost looks like something is drawing energy off of the leyline."

Stephen took a step closer and his paws met bones, forcing the drake to back-peddle some. The ground leading to the pond was littered with bones of the deceased, growths hanging off of them, crimson eyes sunken into the tumours of what looked like rotten flesh.

"I do not like this, Tony."

"I guess we know what happened to the caretakers..." he mumbled, and it would have been more of a joke if he wasn't deeply disturbed by the sight in front of him. 

Stephen gave a low hiss of displeasure in response, watching the crystal nervously and pacing beyond where the scent of rot and decay had bubbled up. The smell was putrid by this point, their disruption of it making the smell considerably worse, and Stephen’s ears flicked back as he shook his head as though he could rid himself of the smell. 

Tony simply covered his nose.

“All of them. Left here, uncared for…” the drake grumbled, “this does not bode well at all.”

“What was your first hint?” Tony responded though it didn’t have nearly the bite of his usual sarcasm between being muffled under his shirt and the discomfort that was growing in his stomach. “What are those things on the crystal?” he inquired more sincerely after.

“Nothing good,” Stephen responded, continuing the pace. His gaze fixed on the black webbing once more and his tail flicked this way and that in agitation as he calculated the scene in front of them. 

“The cause of the caretakers being in their state is one thing, I imagine, but these creatures… these feel like something familiar. I cannot put my finger on where I have encountered this kind of energy before. I do not like it.”

“Well, neither do I big guy, but we should probably do something about it, shouldn’t we? I don’t think we can set up and take accurate readings with this place in the state it’s currently in,”

“You have not been combat-trained, my summoner. If you wish them gone, I will handle them, but I would by far prefer that you did not turn out like… the caretakers.”

“That makes two of us. But what makes you so sure that you’re immune to whatever they are?” Tony responded, running his fingers through the feathers to ease himself. He didn’t like the idea of Stephen potentially putting himself in danger any more than the dragon liked the idea of him getting hurt. He wanted to finish this, but he was pretty sure that the original assignment hadn’t been intended to put either of them at any sort of risk.

“I’m not immune. But I know how to use advanced combat spells, as well as various shielding spells. Besides, you will keep me safe by keeping yourself safe.”

“Yeah, I don’t like the sound of that, Stephen…” Tony held a little tighter. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”

“I am considerably more durable than you are, I assure you. If you want to complete your task, you will need to climb down and take a step back. I can take care of them, more likely than not, without any need for worry.”

"Before we do anything we need to talk to Selvig first, see if he has any suggestions on how to deal with this." Tony hopped off of Stephen's back and set the bag of equipment on the floor. 

Even through the thick canvas fabric, it’s contents made a loud clang against the stone that echoed through the chamber. He started rifling through it, metal rods jingling and batting together on the stone, and it was loud enough that some of the eyes twitched and vibrated in response to the reverberations, starting to sound like they were buzzing almost like bees.

_ It was unnerving. _

"Tony, stop. We need to do this quietly," Stephen snapped, hackles raised and at the ready to jump as the edges of his maw sparked apprehensively.

When the magus stopped, the eyes settled in their positions and the buzzing noise ceased. As quietly as he could, Tony began to assemble the beacon and set it up on the ground, turning it on.

"We're on the grid now, the beacon will send the readings to Selvig along with coordinates and a map of the chamber. I'm reaching out to him now."

"Make it quick, we have already drawn enough attention to ourselves and I do not know what this amalgamation or parasite is capable of. I do not even know if it is sentient or not," Stephen bit back, tail coming around Tony.

The engineer waited patiently, using an earpiece to reach out to Selvig, voice just above a whisper.

"Selvig."

"Ah, about time Tony - I see you made it to the chamber, fine work. It appears the energy readings show something blocking it down there. Is everything alright?"

"That's what we need to talk about, there's something here, and I don't think the keepers are even alive anymore. There are bones and rotting corpses at the bottom of the Sanctum and something… that looks like a living breathing tumour."

"Tony, I don't want you two putting yourselves in danger, I'm coming to you right now-"

" **No!** " Tony's voice rose and Stephen flashed him a warning look.

"It's not safe for you, you can't come here… Stephen thinks he can take care of this."

"Tony, that is not a wise idea, get out of there and we will come back with faculty to deal with this issue, this is beyond what we are asking of you and either of your qualifications for this project."

"I know how to fix the problem," Tony bit back and there was a pause on the other end. He looked at Stephen who gave him a slow nod in compliance.

“If something happens to you-”

“We’ve got this,” Tony reassured the other man, “nothing’s going to happen to us. If Stephen needs to be able to sense the leyline properly and find the lost temples, the state of this crystal isn’t going to help him any. So, we need to do this.”

“Tony, you’re a student first. You don’t need to be a hero.”

“I can’t argue with a dragon, sir,” Tony responded. It wasn’t as though Stephen was pressuring Tony to let him handle it, but the dragon didn’t protest to his assertion either, stretching his wings widely as though in preparation for handling it.

“... If anything happens to you…” Selvig muttered, “I don’t like this at all. I should have gone with you…”

“We’ll take care of it, professor. I’ll call you back when it’s done. Or, you know, we’ll just come back. I’m sure you’ll figure it out through the readings, though. Keep an eye on those,” Tony assured, and with a quick goodbye he hung up, looking to Stephen.

“Are you certain about this?”

“If you think you can handle it, I trust you. And you need to attune to the leylines in this realm properly if we’re going to continue doing this so… what do you have in mind?”

“A combination of offensive and defensive tactics. A shield around the crystal entirely. Burn what is inside. The crystal itself is likely to be impervious to aetheric fire, but most things are not,” Stephen responded, sitting and staring at the crystal. “Alternatively, a banishment spell might work, but I do not know from whence they came and a summon using banishment spells is generally ill-advised.”

“Burn it all is generally a favourite tactic of mine anyways,” Tony shrugged and gave a nod of approval.

“Very well. Let us start with that, then.”

In less than two minutes a bubble surrounded the crystal - and it really did look like a bubble. Subtle pastel colours shifted over its surface and gave off a very dreamy feel, and Tony half expected that if prodded it would pop. Stephen shifted onto his hind legs after the bubble was fully formed, spreading his wings and using them to balance himself as he carefully began a series of gestures. A low incantation beginning that even Tony struggled to hear.

The incantations spoken were in tongues that could be heard and felt. Words unknown to humankind and hearing them was nothing short of jarring.

Tony backed up far against the wall and a light began to build in front of Stephen, his words rising in volume and fury, his voice echoing through the chamber causing the creatures to be magnetized towards it as the amalgamation slowly shifted states and the buzzing began again.

The tongues sounded like they were spoken by many, many draconic voices as the light reached what Tony could have only assumed was its zenith and the entire room erupted in a bright flash.

Stephen dropped down as the spell was completed, Tony shielded his eyes unable to stand the illumination and anything dead, anything rotting and the parasites collectively erupted into a blaze of deep-blue flames, sparks floating high as they completely disintegrated.

Tony looked back once the spell had completed, prismatic embers floating among the now streaming light of pure, concentrated arcane energy that now spiralled through the center of the well from the pool.

"Something's wrong," Tony took a few steps closer and Stephen hissed as the wave of arcane light almost seemed to burn him like fire. Stones began to fall from above, crumbling rock and the foundations shook as the light hit the crystal and scattered, boring into the walls like some sort of drill.

"The focusing crystal is not centred," Stephen warned, moving Tony out of the way as a stray beam sheered the wall beside them.

"Well, how do we set it?!" Tony looked frantically towards Stephen.

"We cannot, we leave - this place is going to come down on us," Stephen raised a wing to deflect some falling stone. "I cannot get anywhere near that energy, I would be incinerated in a second," Stephen grunted.

"I won't," Tony pushed past Stephen's feathers and carefully approached, the arcane reactor in his chest burning and vibrating like he'd never felt it before. It was charged, invigorated, almost as if it felt alive.

"Tony, no, we need to leave.  **Now!** " Stephen barked, but a flash from the crystal had him backing up, ears pinned down against the back of his head.

There was no heat to the energy for Tony, more of a heartbeat, something soft and fluttering. The exposure to all this energy made him feel almost intoxicated as he stepped closer. It felt like life, innately right and he turned to Stephen who was darting back and forth in an anxious fit.

He could see Stephen calling him, yelling his name but he heard nothing, nothing but the sounds of a beating heart. He swallowed, stepping forward again and placed his hands on the crystal, it was warm and tingly under his fingers as he moved it.

As he reset the massive jewel, the lines of refracted energy began to focus, shooting up the side of the well until the crystal was properly aligned and the beam funnelled into a perfectly straight beam skyward. 

The spire of light funnelled through the northern and southern points of the crystal, straight up into the roof, illuminating the pin-prick opening straight through the ceiling before flashing violently.

There was a loud thunderous boom and Tony was sent back with a shockwave. Stephen caught him immediately and curled around him, Tony could see him mouthing words but all he heard was ringing in his ears and he felt disoriented and weak as if his energy had been sapped right out of him.

A vibration ran through his chest, in no discernible pattern, and Tony closed his eyes for a moment as though it would block out the sensation, knowing full well it wouldn’t do anything. Still, he felt feathers and paws against his skin, tingling and leaving an odd warmth behind before feeling the wind.

Peeking an eye open gave him no clear visuals, though he recognized that the paws at some point had become hands, arms curling around him and Stephen’s wings bundling him up as he jerked a bit as though Stephen was running.

It would explain the wind.

He gave a sigh and tried to speak, though he couldn’t hear himself as he asked where they were going, so hoping to hear Stephen’s answer was likely far beyond him. Instead, he rested in against a feathery chest feeling oddly safe and secure. When his eyes closed again, however, he saw that piercing red leer from his nightmare. 

_ And they saw him. _

Suddenly everything around him was loud enough again to be deafening. 

Stone crashing against stone, something that sounded simultaneously like a waterfall and voices screaming, the world outside of his safe haven of wings seemed very much like it was falling apart. Stephen grunted in pain, but so much of the dragon was beyond his ability to see - he didn’t know what had hurt him.

“Stephen…? Are you okay?” he tried, but if the dragon heard him he gave no indication of it.

Dust filtered between feathers briefly, and Stephen seemed to stumble on something before light replaced the dust - rays of sunlight, illuminating his formerly dark cocoon of feathers.

Stephen’s wings spread and flared rather dramatically before the dragon knelt down, cradling Tony in his lap. “We will be in Dalaar shortly,” the other informed him, freeing his own arms to make an unfamiliar set of mudras.

A gateway opened and beyond he could see the familiar look of their home. His bed.

His eyes turned away as he adjusted to look at Stephen, and Stephen collected him up in his arms again to pull him through. He cast the briefest glance over the dragon’s shoulder to see a beam of light streaking into the sky, even as a small portion of the Sanctum seemed to collapse behind them.

The engineer blinked and the atmosphere had changed in a haze. 

The ceiling spun around him and for a moment he felt nauseous until he didn't.

Soon enough he felt hurried hands lay him down, head sinking into the pillow beneath his head as he looked up at Stephen, his entire body feeling weak and heavy.

He could feel those same familiar hands, probing his body and it felt… nice. He felt his own heartbeat settle to rest, felt the soft weight in his limbs simply wanting to sink into the comforter of his own bed. Sound was beyond him at this moment, and not even Stephen's frantic calls checking for responsiveness permeated the sweet silence and relaxing, utopian feeling that seemed to blanket him like the wind on a soft summer's day.

He blinked again, and then the weight shifted from his body and started to withdraw into his chest.

Another blink and the sound returned around him, his eyes focused and he could only smile up at the humanoid trying to get his attention.

Stephen hadn't quite reverted fully to human, it was as if he felt he couldn't articulate his hands well enough in his draconic form that he needed the accessibility of human hands, but didn't want to completely shed his draconian guise. They shook on him like there were tremors, and Tony felt that shaking so vividly.

He hadn't seen this form on Stephen, it was cute and as the dragon's voice returned to his ears he heard the worry and distress in it. Brilliant eyes searching his own, his body moving as folded azure wings hung over him like a canopy of quills.

He felt the soft pads of his hands on his face and Tony finally found the weight of his limbs alleviated from pulling him down, fingers lightly grasping Stephen's wrist as he smiled up and felt the pronounced heartbeat again accompanied by the fuzzy feeling in his chest.

"I'm fine, Stephen..."

"What the hell were you thinking Tony? You could have gotten yourself killed!" The dragon's ears pinned in anxiety and he leaned down and pressed his face into Tony's collarbone almost like he was scared.

"Oh calm down fuzz-butt, I'm well and fine. I told you, I knew what I was doing." 

Stephen kept his forehead atop Tony's reactor and the engineer reached up and began to card his fingers through the drake's dark brown hair, smoothing down the back of his head and around those ears to rest in the plumage of white feathers and fur around his neck.

"How did you…? Getting so close to that much energy should have incinerated you," Stephen's voice was strained and raspy, probably from yelling.

"The reactor...? I don't know, I don't quite get it but when I got closer to the vein I just… it was almost like I felt the heartbeat of someone else. Everything was warm, mesmerizing..."

"What exactly is in your chest Tony?" The engineer looked down at the inquiry as the drake peeled back his tunic and brushed his claws over the humming implant.

"The arcane reactor...?" Tony furrowed his brows, he sensed the dragons displaced state of mind and tried to soothe him with a soft hand running through his hair.

"Yes, tell me about it..."

“It’s… a reactor,” Tony started slowly, and Stephen simply watched him carefully, clearly prying for more information. “It helps to regulate magical energy in my body.”

“... your magic is… wild?” Stephen inquired slowly, looking perplexed as he tried to process the idea.

“No. Not exactly. There… was an accident,” the summoner sighed a little, relaxing back against the pillows and letting Stephen fuss around him, taking on his draconic form and curling himself around Tony, with a wing draped over him as he rested his head near his summoner’s, ears attentively perked.

“See… my dad’s company sorta… siphons wild magic and converts it into energy.” It was hard to read the expression on the dragon’s face, but he didn’t seem thrilled about the idea. “I was trying to help him make it more effective… we were working on a way of increasing the output of the magic without siphoning more wild magic. It… didn’t go as planned. There was an explosion and I got caught up in it. Dad had been checking readings in the other room while I made adjustments and it just… well…

“It probably should have killed me,” Tony admitted quietly, refusing to close his eyes for fear of bringing back the images of that moment. “My body was wracked with energy it couldn’t control - it was probably the only time in my life I was truly afraid of magic. I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t be around anyone and it felt like my body was expanding and contracting far beyond what it ought to, though it never actively changed that way. It was… nothing I ever want to experience again.

“I was dying. My heart couldn’t keep a hold on the pressure and strain, and I couldn’t get control over the magic because… well, it’s wild magic for a reason, right? So… I built this, in hopes of saving myself. A way to… contain and regulate the magic in my body. Without it… I’d die. The magic would consume me all over again.”

Stephen lightly nosed the tip of his beak into Tony's chest and the engineer smiled, putting his palm on the top of his nose and running his fingers through the soft feathers.

"It takes any excess magic and regulates it, and since my body is charged with it more than normal it can offset the strain it puts on the human body, store it and evenly disperse it. It doesn't mean I'm out of the clear, it puts a lot more stress on my heart than normal so I can only assume in my later life I'll have some serious heart complications unless I figure out how to, you know… undo years of stress," he let out a deep breath and turned his face into Stephen's neck.

"Something tells me that a heart condition with your risky behaviour is the last thing that might possibly endanger you," he rumbled and curled his wing tighter around Tony's shoulders, shutting his eyes. 

"I was very concerned for you earlier, I thought I might lose you… If I had gotten near that energy I would not have come out as you would have. A little foresight would have been nice," Stephen rumbled softly.

"Stephen, are you literally mother henning me right now?" Tony chuckled, indicating at the state of Stephen's feathers, which were slightly ruffled and almost drowning him in azure and white quills.

"Is worrying about you an issue? I cannot help it," Stephen whined partially, missing the joke.

“You’re so cute sometimes…” Tony smiled, hugging the feathered head. “Relax. I’ll be fine. A little rest and I’ll be good as new.”

“Sleep,” Stephen instructed rather plainly at that. “Sleep, and I will fetch Palmer and Pym to check you over…”

“What…? Wait, I don’t need-”

“Silva, you will rest or I will put you to sleep myself.” It wasn’t meant as a threat, Tony was fairly sure, but oh boy did it sound like one.

“Am I supposed to sleep through Doctor Palmer and Doctor Pym poking at my chest? What if they do something weird to it?”

“I would never let them hurt you,” Stephen growled in response, his feathers frilling up in displeasure at the notion, and Tony reached to try and stroke the feathers back down again.

“... can I just… sleep first? And we can talk to them after?”

“Are you certain? What if something is really wrong?”

“I’m mostly just tired, and oddly wired. I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine soon enough,” Tony reassured gently, cuddling the fluffy head against his chest. “Stay with me? We’ll get some sleep together?”

"I will give you that, as long as tomorrow you promise to have Doctor Palmer and Doctor Pym check up on you my Silva," Stephen whistled softly, ears flicking as Tony nosed is way into the feathers under his jaw.

"You've got a deal, fluffy," Tony chuckled, words muffled by the face full of feathers. 

Stephen let out a haughty snuffle at the pet name but let it go. "I'm joking, silva," there was a shorter snort as if Stephen was more content with that conclusive answer.

Tony pulled up one of the quilts laying on his bed, Stephen's feathers offered a surprising amount of warmth that blanketed him just enough to keep the chill of the empty apartment out but without being so overwhelmingly hot that he'd be scooting out from underneath them from overheating.

His breathing evened out and his body went heavy and relaxed, sinking into the dragon's side as if he was laying in a sea of pillows and down blankets.

* * *

Tony woke up a few hours later feeling fuzzy and a little off. 

His head swam a bit and he sat up, seemingly waking up Stephen in the process… Or was Stephen already awake?

Those vibrant cyan eyes were almost mesmerizing the way they peered down at him, the heart around his neck warm and humming, stimulated, awake and alive.

"Have you just been watching me sleep?" Tony mumbled sleepily with a little bit of a laugh. He pushed himself up against Stephen's sides, the quilt falling down to his knees as he tried to shake the grogginess.

“I always watch over you while you sleep,” Stephen purred softly, nestling in close. “How else would I keep your dreams safe?”

That gave Tony pause as he hesitated in his spot for a moment, listening to the dragon’s purring and felt the vibration of it through most of his body. Stephen didn’t seem to have any issue with cuddling close to him, or anything else, though he felt the dragon’s beak preening his hair some.

“Do… you tend to participate in them?”

“No, I simply monitor them, usually,” the dragon responded simply enough, and Tony took a deep breath.

“So you watch…?”

“Oh yes, of course. I always keep close to make certain you are safe.”

“Oh,” Tony responded simply, taking a few more deep breaths and rubbing his face into the neck full of fluff in front of him. “Okay. Gotcha.”

“It is hardly anything to be concerned by, I am used to seeing many things in your dreams. They can be very interesting things, I find. You are much less concerned about societal expectations in your dreams,” Stephen sat up a little, his ears and feathers perking a bit as he watched the summoner beneath him. “I was of the impression that my draconic form might put you off, and yet so often here you are, dreaming of me as such. As you did the first time.”

“I thought of you differently the first time,” Tony stated quietly, leaning into the feathers again a bit in an effort to keep the warmth and pleasant vibrations near to him.

“I should hope so,” the dragon responded in a purr near his ear that sent a little shiver down his spine. “Things are considerably different now than they were then…”

"Considerably..." Tony's words dripped with heat as they rolled off of his tongue.

He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the tip of Stephen's beak lightly tugging through strands of hair, dragging ever so gently along his scalp enough to send pin-pricks and tingles down his spine.

He shuddered, finding himself somehow completely straddling Stephen, hanging over his abdomen and even more suddenly clad in ornate opalescent white garbs from head to toe like a prize.

A thick white-gold collar embellished by Corinthian floral refinery, littered in teardrops of sapphires with the dragon's heart at the center of it all. A sash, and stockings on his legs and arms, silky smooth with the same white-gold cuffs and jewelry to contrast his tanned and exposed thighs and chest.

He opened his eyes and where the gaze of a sentinel was, replaced with lust and hunger. The air was thick and he felt the feelings rebounded back and forth between them. 

It was hard to deny that he was starting to get incredibly turned on, and with the way, Stephen's tail seemed to flick with anticipation and the fact that those feelings seemed evidently mutual.

"I want you," Tony pressed a hand down into Stephen's down chest fluff.

"You already have me, silva," the dragon rumbled with a heavy voice and Tony almost choked on his own heat. 

His body tingled, his skin was hot and the feathers collected at his thighs from his movements over Stephen's chest only served to stir his aroused state.

Tony ground his hips against Stephen's chest and the drake flicked his tail again, pulling away to look his mate in the eyes and that's when Tony grabbed his maw with both hands, arching his back so he could lean in for a kiss.

"Kiss me."

The dragon responded without hesitation. 

His maw opened and a warm tongue slipped into his mouth in moments as the dragon held him close, showing no signs that he took issue with the way Tony’s hips were pressing in against him. Soft feathers made for a comfortable place to rub against as his hands raised to brush into the feathers along the dragon’s cheeks.

The dragon seemed to surround him in every way as his wings curled around them creating a cocoon separating them from the world around them, and the soft croons the other gave matched his own moans, stifled into the kiss. Claws pressed into his back gently, scraping down his spine rather pleasantly before resting on his hips and over his ass, kneading the muscle there and leaving Tony’s imagination running wild.

He wanted the dragon in every way, he realized quite clearly then. 

He wanted this with his summon, and even as he sat back for a moment to breathe, his hand reached back behind him to find a rather large and already quite slick erection beneath his hand. He cast the dragon a sly smile at that.

“What’s all this?” he inquired teasingly as the dragon gave a low moan, jerking into Tony’s hand for a moment before releasing him to allow Tony to adjust. “Gotta ask… does this taste like cinnamon buns, too?”

“I suppose there is one way to find out,” Stephen purred lowly as Tony turned in his spot to face the admittedly smaller than expected erection. His hands curled around it a little bit, though he couldn’t fully cover it by any means, and he gave the tip a long look of consideration, feeling Stephen’s hands resettle on his hips as Stephen gently parted his ass cheeks.

Before Tony could even lean in to give Stephen’s tip a testing lick, he received one of his own that ran from his perineum all the way over the crease in his ass and the tip of a tongue began to gently prod at the cleft of muscles.

Tony's face fell in an instant to the base of Stephen's erect cock to find momentary respite in the soft feathers.

"S-Stephen!" he rasped between grit teeth, and that surprised gasp only trailed off into a low moan as effortlessly as that long tongue started sliding inside his parted muscles and he arched his back and cried. "-a-aah!"

_ Fuck -  _ that felt amazing. 

Stephen's tongue was hot and malleable between his cheeks, and as he pressed in further, and further,  _ and further _ , it warmed like the heat of a fire, turning his insides to the consistency of melted chocolate in the best way possible. It was electric how amazing it felt and it felt like every nerve in his body was firing and his cock only hardened, drooling steadily.

Paws pulled and yanked, coarse padded skin on his tender tan flesh as he was mounted half in Stephen's beak, the bottom of his jaw cupping his cock and underside while the top pressed down on his spine firm enough to hold him in place but gentle enough not to hurt.

Tony struggled to get ahold of the slicked-up girth in his hands, it was warm, yet the slickness that dripped off of it turned chilling enough to nicely contrast that heat. 

He stomached another loud moan as butterflies and pleasure rippled through his body, canting his head to take as much of the dragon as he could in his mouth, paling in comparison to what felt like seven-inches or more of dragon tongue buried in his ass.

Hot puffs of air warmed his flank and he felt a moan rip through him as if it couldn't be held back, taking Stephen's impossibly long cock in his mouth and lapping up the same flavours he experienced when he shared a kiss with his companion. 

Sweet, cinnamony-spice and melt-in-your-mouth savouriness played over his tongue as he bobbed over the dragon's length while his hands worked what his mouth couldn't reach in tandem with his movements. He was certain it was going to result in his jaw aching something fierce, but as far as he was concerned it was worth it in every way. 

Of course, the deeper Stephen’s tongue pried, the more distracted he got by the idea of trying to fit what was in his hands into him otherwise. He couldn’t help the deep groan when Stephen jerked into his hands and mouth, his tongue making thrusting motions of its own as Stephen held his hips firmly in place, and he knew how easily the dragon could have simply used him as some sort of sex toy.

Tony found himself surprised to acknowledge  _ he didn’t entirely hate the idea. _

He knew Stephen would never hurt him - even now the dragon showed it, his claws pressing into his skin without breaking it, holding him still but not uncomfortably, nothing pressing in any way that it shouldn’t. Even his tongue was working slowly, warming him up and stretching him open further and further, ever so gently.

A couple further thrusts of the tongue and Tony found himself jerking back and up as the tip of the dragon’s tongue began to flick over his prostate rather quickly and suddenly, and his own cry felt as though it echoed loudly inside their alcove of feathers. 

His body jerked and shuddered as he buried his face into feathers again, holding tightly to the dragon’s cock without finding himself much able to reciprocate the feelings.

“F-fuck, Stephen what… that’s…” Words, it seemed, were not wanting to cooperate right that moment, as his muscles kept tensing and twitching under the assault of the dragon’s tongue.

Tony let out a muffled and surprised cry as he attempted to continue returning the mutual gesture. He thought about withdrawing at some point, begging Stephen to turn him around and stuff him full of that wonderful cock, fill him just like he had with his tongue and really just ride him like he'd never done with any toy or human in his entire life.

Any attempt however to withdraw to make that demand was in vain as the drake bucked his hips, forcing his drooling cock deeper into Tony's jaw, which - despite its rough treatment and being strained - somehow wasn't sore at all.

And he was fine with being impaled from both ends as the excessive amount of precum leaking from Stephen's length escaped past his lips end began to trickle down his jaw and pool below him in a sticky mess.

The idea that his summon was getting off to this only wound him up more - that, and the tongue mercilessly teasing and lashing at his prostate until he couldn't hold back anymore. 

His palms squeezed around Stephen's cock and he let out a whimpered cry as his entire body froze, paralyzed by the pleasure that rolled over him and his body seized as he spilled himself into the dragon's open maw.

His eyes shut and his body shook and trembled, a loud cry muffled by the girth buried in his own mouth. He went slack and barely held on as the dragon slowly bucked into him, his seemingly boneless body simply being used as Stephen fucked into his open mouth. 

He shut his eyes and tears pricked at the corners from the strain before the drake bellowed and he got a mouth - nay a stomach full,  _ and then much more. _

He managed to rip himself away, white-hot seed dripping down his tongue as he had to spit out the excess to avoid choking, and it didn't stop there. Ropes shooting over his shoulder and head coating his back and for a moment he had a hard time even believing what was happening as he collapsed once more on Stephen's belly and just  _ laid in it _ .

"A warning would have sufficed," Tony groaned, throat raw from use and he shivered, that tongue retracting from inside him and he felt… so empty now in contrast to how full he'd been.

"You seemed like the type to enjoy surprises, my summoner. Plus,  _ you look so good in white, _ I was simply adding a little accent," the amusement was laden in his voice.

“Thus the outfit again…?”

“You like it…” Stephen pointed out smugly, his tongue darting out to tug at a ring and sapphire hanging from Tony’s nipple that the summoner hadn’t realized was there before. He was fairly sure it wasn’t even pierced but the feeling of the other’s tongue tugging the jewelry lightly dragged a soft moan from him.

“When… did you do this?”

“Do what?” the dragon inquired, adjusting Tony and reaching his head to nestle against his summoner.

In a moment the rings were gone. Everything was gone. He was clean and laying on his bed cuddled against his summon, wearing his favourite pyjamas, with the warmth and weight of the dragon’s heart against his chest. It took him a long moment before he looked at the dragon in confusion and wonder.

“Is… this real? … am I dreaming?”

“Very good,” a voice came from elsewhere, and Tony’s head swivelled around as everything around him seemed to melt away. Stephen sat there watching him with a small smirk. “I am very flattered, you know. I will acknowledge that your dream was not exactly how that would work - anatomically, I am not certain your body could handle-”

“Were you… were you  _ watching me _ ?” Tony stared at him, aghast as he looked between where Stephen had been and where he stood now. “It wasn’t even you?”

“I only  _ observe _ your dreams, my summoner. I do not intervene unless there is cause to. There was no cause here. Your dream was not in any danger of being intruded upon.”

Tony was near mortified not only to find out that his dreams were simply that, but that Stephen had been watching the entire thing like some form of entertainment.

His face was a deep shade of crimson in a moment as he pulled the sheets up, for some reason deeming that moment right then and there appropriate to act modestly about the entire episode.

Despite it being a dream he could still feel the lingering sensations of having his jaw agape, the pressure on his hips and he was struggling with and even some effects of the state of arousal he'd been in.

"I-" Tony tried to start, his mouth flapping open and closed as if he was trying to form his muddled thoughts into something coherent that he could properly articulate, and Stephen only chuckled, hopping up and standing over him before laying his breast down on the engineer's legs and pushing Tony over playfully with an amused chuckle.

"There is no shame in having desires, far from it. I find it most endearing that you appreciate me for all that I am, and so much more that you would dream of my draconic form in such a way," he purred softly and nosed into the engineer's neck. Tony's hands were immediately on Stephen's cheeks as he dealt with the entire episode of being flustered, there was no hiding and he knew the drake was taking a certain delight in tormenting him this way.

“Relax, my silva. Relax and rest. We can discuss this all more when you are awake if you remember any of it. For now, simply relax and get well… I will be here watching over you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a heads-up our wonderful readers, we will be dropping down to one chapter a week due to the holiday season. Both Luca and I have a lot of holiday plans coming up that will make finishing up the story a lot more difficult. The story will update once every Thursdays now!

He registered warmth and softness before anything else and knew instantly what it was. 

There was a soft puff of air on his cheek and as he cracked an eye open, he found Stephen watching him carefully. The dragon gave a soft croon and nudged at his cheek with the tip of his beak, his ears perked up but most of his quills laying back in relaxation.

“Morning,” Tony chuckled softly in greeting, rubbing at his face before rolling onto his side to face Stephen and run his fingers against Stephen’s quills. The dragon’s eyes closed in contentment.

“Good morning, my silva,” the dragon responded nuzzling Tony further and allowing himself to be coddled without hesitation. 

“I hope you are feeling well-rested this morning? I will fetch Doctor Palmer and Professor Pym in short order… I would prepare coffee first, but it seems to elevate your heart rate and your heartbeat has already been irregular since this morning. I would prefer to make certain that there are no issues with that prior to indulging you in your terrible consumption habits.”

"Hey, that's really not fair at all! I deserve my morning cuppa!" Tony sighed and slowly pushed himself up, leaning on Stephen's side for support.

Stephen's ears twitched and he shook his head. "You may have decaf at the very most, or a light herbal tea," he insisted, pecking at the arc reactor in Tony's chest to send him back a little. 

"Now get dressed, do your morning routines, you will need not only to visit the good doctors but also check in with Selvig. I have been able to speak for you in your absence but he would like to talk to you as soon as you are able.”

Tony playfully pushed Stephen's face away and the dragon's quills twitched as he shoved right back, knocking him over onto the bed. 

"You know you're telling me to get ready, but yet here you are distracting and play-wrestling with me," Tony smirked and immediately threw his weight on Stephen which got him a surprised yelp as he crashed into the feathery beast.

"Well there clearly is no haste to what we need to do, they know you are mostly fine and need your time to recover," Stephen rolled over on his back nearly falling off the bed as he hooked his paws over Tony's back. He brayed softly in discontent as he slipped off the side of the bed and slinked onto the floor, taking the bedspread and Tony with him.

“I would think the bed is more comfortable…” Stephen huffed at him a little from his spot, earning a grin from Tony.

“Aren’t _you _my bed? You’re pretty comfortable, you know.”

Stephen’s wings curled in to tickle against the summoner’s sides for a moment before he gave a long sigh at that. 

“Well, I am pleased to make certain that you are always at your most comfortable, my summoner,” he started, before his tone took on a more teasing cadence. “Of course, this is definitely reminiscent of something. We should talk about that eventually.”

“... what?” Tony gave the dragon a confused look for a moment. He slept on Stephen’s stomach all the time, and it took him a few long moments of pondering to try and determine what the dragon was talking about. When it clicked, Tony groaned a bit and buried his face in the feathers of Stephen’s neck.

“Oh geez. Can we not talk about that right now? I definitely deserve coffee before that.”

“Do you?” Stephen chortled softly, “well, that would require you not sitting on my belly. Go do your grooming, my silva. I will prepare breakfast for you.”

Tony raked his fingers over Stephen's chest as he stretched and then slowly slid off of the dragon. The drake twisted on the ground like a cat trying to right itself. He shook out his flared feathers and took on his more human disguise for the sake of appearances outside of the apartment.

Tony turned to head for the washroom but stopped and eyed him up a moment, biting his lip before stopping and turning back around.

"Did you want to join me?" Despite Stephen being his mate, he still struggled with personal requests like these given how formal the drake usually was, despite mentioning numerous times that he'd  _ literally _ do anything for the engineer, and more so due to the reminiscence of his last dream.

"You probably don't need to, but the company would be nice. I wouldn't mind having you run your hands through my hair. Plus, I know it only takes you a second to conjure up a cup of coffee or anything else," he teased lightly with a sheepish smile.

"Anything for you," the drake perked and the excitement in his voice couldn't be contained in the slightest as he walked over to Tony and followed him over to the washroom.

“I can give you a hand washing your feathers and stuff if you want?” Tony offered, and Stephen looked at him in confusion. “Well, I told you this whole ‘in human form’ thing was unnecessary, and it’s not like the basin isn’t large enough for both of us to wash.”

“I would not be able to assist you particularly well in washing with my paws, summoner,” Stephen advised as Tony led him into the bathroom and began to strip.

“So is that a no, then?”

“You… really want to bathe me?” the dragon inquired with clear confusion at that, tilting his head slightly, and Tony grinned widely.

“I should learn how to take care of you too, shouldn’t I?”

There was a brief pause, before Stephen’s form adjusted again and the dragon’s claws clicked on the tiled floor of the bathroom, leaving him to steadily slink into the basin, resting his head on the edge of the tub. 

“It is not as though washing me is a necessity, nor a difficult thing. It is simply time-consuming, I would imagine, for someone your size.”

"We can take turns, and it's not simply about the act of cleaning up, but more so the therapeutic notion behind it. Plus… washing a loved one is a very intimate gesture." Tony procured a washcloth, brush, shampoo and bar of soap. He laid them at the side of the basin along with a few towels, stripping off his own clothing before sliding in next to Stephen and grabbing the soap.

"Hmm, is that so…?" he inquired softly.

"Since it doesn't really matter what I use on you, you'll probably puff up like a chinchilla after I'm done anyway, I'll grab the soap." 

He grabbed the washrag and dipped it in the water, bringing it up so he could gingerly run it over Stephen's snout, the dragon closed his eyes out of habit as the warm water cascaded over his feathers in droplets broken up by the folds of his quills. He did this a couple of times, Stephen grunting softly as if he was unfamiliar with the gesture.

He procured the brush and soap, lathering the bristles of the brush before taking the handle of it and slowly running it from the tip of Stephen's beak to the back of his head and ears, gently brushing it over his feathers, around his ears and quills and down along the underside of his jaw. 

One hand held the brush, while his nails dug into the short feathers on his cheek and rubbed the soap in, rinsing, rubbing, scratching which drew some soft croons out of Stephen as his eyes shut in clear delight.

The dragon’s head tilted to one side to allow for more access to a spot Tony could only assume was itchy as he focused in on it. The assumption was proven correct as he watched the dragon’s back foot begin to thump a little under the water as though scratching it himself, and when Tony slipped away after to rinse the washrag, he found himself utterly soaked as Stephen shook himself out some, his wings raising, flitting for a moment and settling again as he looked at Tony.

“No, no… spread those out. I should get your wings and underneath your wings, too,” Tony insisted, and Stephen lifted his wet wings enough for Tony to get beneath the nearest one, anyway, beginning to cleanse and groom the dragon’s feathers as Stephen turned to look at him.

“Is there anything I can do to assist in the meantime?” he inquired, and Tony peered from beneath the dragon’s wing for a moment, before shaking his head.

“Nah, just keep your wings stable for me while I get this. I’ll get you all cleaned up in no time!” he grinned brightly.

‘No time’ was a lie, of course. 

Stephen was a good sixteen or so feet from beak to butt, and his wingspan was at least that and more. 

It was a lot of dragon to wash, and yet Stephen adjusted easily in compliance with Tony’s directions, waddling heavily as he turned himself around so Tony could more easily access his other side as well, and even laying on his back so that Tony could wash his legs, and belly. 

He spent a good deal of time examining the dragon’s paws to figure out how they worked. He was gentle with them, of course, knowing well enough that they were injured and as such stiff in areas, but he couldn’t help that a part of him wanted to know more about the dragon’s anatomy.

Stephen's head was resting on the stone of the basin while all fours were up in the air. Tony curiously ran a digit down the bottom of Stephen's back right paw and the dragon's toes curled up on instinct and his back leg twitched. 

He looked over to Stephen who's eyes were closed and basking in the attention. He motioned once again, causing the same reaction and this time a flick of his ear as one of the drake's eyes cracked open to look at him suspiciously.

"I was wondering when I'd find your weak spot," Tony grinned and those ears pinned back, eyes focused on Tony as if they were in a standoff at this very moment.

"Summoner..." he gave a warning growl.

Tony could have taken the warning - but he didn't, instead, he gripped his ankle and immediately ran all his fingers down his paw pads, scratching at the sensitive pads causing Stephen to flail like a drowning cat in the water and bray loudly.

"Looks like someone has ticklish feet!" he grinned like a Cheshire cat, relishing in the light-hearted torment he inflicted upon his poor summon.

“Tony!” the dragon whined and yowled, absolutely drenching Tony and the room around them as he flapped his wings under the water in protest, wriggling and writhing under the assault as he attempted to break free without harming Tony. And it was a close call a few times as the dragon’s free leg flailed around, and the trapped one flexed and twitched in Tony’s hold.

Stephen’s protests echoed off the stone walls of the room, and the dragon whimpered further as he attempted to restrain himself, much to Tony’s amusement. The summoner did, eventually, relinquish the dragon’s foot, and in no time at all the dragon’s feet were settled plainly on the ground as he stared at Tony, disgruntled.

“... what?” Tony smiled innocently, and the dragon didn’t hesitate for a second to splash him with water before crawling out of the basin, wings and tail drooping miserably.

“I trusted you!” Stephen huffed, shaking himself out and not looking at Tony as he adjusted his feathers some. “I trusted you and you betrayed me!”

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic…”

“You took advantage of my trust!” Stephen continued on, swivelling his head around to stare at Tony, his feathers poofing around him.

“C’mon, I didn’t even finish washing you-”

“Never again!” the dragon announced with all the solemnity of a fitful child.

"Oh come on, Stephen, I was just trying to have a little fun with you, you didn't get hurt and neither did I so what's the big deal here?" Tony climbed out, grabbing one of the now sopping wet towels and wrapping it around his waist as he followed after Stephen.

He went to walk around his wings but Stephen kept them inconveniently fanned and turned tail on Tony as he tried to walk around him, refusing to make eye contact.

"Stephen, don't be like that, look I'm sorry! I thought it would be funny, I had no malintent by it. Quit being such a wet blanket about it," Tony attempted to get around to him and his ears pinned back and he turned away.

"You still have to do me-" he pointed at his hair.

"I do not trust you," he brayed with distress like a toddler that had just had its toy stolen by a playmate.

"So that's it, you're just going to be mad at me over this? Over one little sneak-attack like that?" He was only rewarded with a snort in response and the engineer let out a sigh, feeling incredibly downcast by the idea that Stephen was genuinely upset with him.

He turned around and slipped back into the water, grabbing the shampoo so he could quickly finish up washing himself and getting ready.

“You will have to make it up to me!” Stephen announced as he padded out of the room in a huff, only to be heard whining to himself in the next room as well,  _ petulantly.  _

Tony sighed a bit more heavily at that and continued on his washing, then attempting to dry off - eventually settling on a spell to dry himself properly as everything in the bathroom was soaked. 

He padded his way to his bedroom to get dressed properly, and by the time he reached the kitchen Stephen sat there in a half-human form, his ears large and feathered and tail twitching back and forth behind him, breakfast spread out on the table and coffee - probably decaf - settled there with it.

Stephen cradled his own cup of tea and diligently didn’t look at Tony, draped in various fabrics in a way that somehow looked elegantly messy, with his hair slightly wet and ruffled still as he huffed over his tea.

“... so… how am I making this up to you? You can’t be mad at me all day about a little tickle…” Tony tried to reason with the dragon, especially given that when he sat down, Stephen looked away rather pointedly.

“Kiss it better.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“Is that not what humans do? I want you to kiss it better!”

_ “Your foot?!” _

Stephen gave him a pointed look.

Tony rolled his eyes, grabbing his hairbrush and quickly running it through his hair a few times before he walked over to Stephen's side and wrapped his arms around him, bringing his head into his chest and pressing it into the reactor which he knew the drake loved.

"You know I'd kiss you any time, it's one of my specialties after all. I'm even better at apology kisses, so now you get to enjoy one of those infamous kisses right now!" he teased lightly and leaned down taking Stephen's lips in his own and grasping his cheeks in the palms of his hands.

He felt Stephen's hands on his shoulders, his own starting to gently comb through the silver streaks at the side of his head, brushing through that wet mop and letting out a gentle hum.

Stephen closed his eyes and seemed to be as equally into it before Tony finally broke the kiss and smoothed his hands down to the drake's shoulders.

"How about that?" he pecked Stephen on the forehead before grabbing his brush and starting to comb out the dragon's mussed hair, styling it so it was as presentable as his outfit.

"Satisfactory," came the monotoned baritone and Tony only grinned in amusement.

"Prude! That was an excellent kiss."

"It was defective, I want another."

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Gladly." And this time Stephen grabbed Tony by the collar, pulling him down onto his lap so the engineer was straddling his hips while he held the man in place with his arms around his waist.

Stephen held him firmly in place, stealing a deeper kiss as though it wasn’t freely given, and Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen’s neck gently with a soft noise of pleasure. If he was getting kisses, surely Stephen wasn’t  _ that _ angry with him, right?

He gave a slightly surprised gasp as Stephen squeezed his ass, pulling back to give the dragon a mock suspicious look as the dragon grinned happily at him, squeezing a second time.

“Was all of this a set up so you could feel me up?”

“No. But it was certainly an added perk. And given you got  _ considerably more than a handful _ last night, I would say it is only fair.”

“I thought you were mad at me, you asshole!”

“I was,” Stephen gave a slight pout at that, holding Tony close to him. “What if I had kicked you? What if my claws had hurt you? I do not like tickles!” the dragon stated lowly. “But that does not change that I love you immensely.”

“I love you too, you big baby,” Tony responded, rolling his eyes a bit and resting his chin on the dragon’s shoulder to indulge in cuddling.

"Plus, it never hurts to make sure there are no injuries back there from yesterday," Stephen hummed and Tony could feel the vibration from his deep voice in his chest.

"Oh you won't find any damage down there, I assure you the goods are intact," Tony grinned, placing a gentle kiss on the dragon's neck. "Thank you for breakfast, by the way. And coffee," he finally pulled back to look at Stephen with a broad smile.

"It is always my pleasure!" the dragon seemed to utterly preen under the compliments, pressing a few kisses to his chest. "You should probably eat and finish up." 

"Aaand in order to do that I will need you to let me go," Tony let out a breathy laugh and he could almost see what Stephen was trying to get away with here.

"I suppose," he reluctantly let go and Tony slid off of his lap, placing another quick peck before taking a seat across from the table from him with a smile.

Tony made short work of his meal, thoroughly aware the whole while that Stephen was admiring him over the table. He sighed his relief as he realized that at least whatever mood Stephen had been in earlier was easily remedied by some kisses and affection. There were worse ways to try and cheer someone up.

Once he was finished and ready to go, Stephen took the time to escort him to Selvig’s office where Professor Pym awaited as well. Selvig offered Tony a large, warm smile as he greeted him.

“Tony! Finally! We’ve been worried senseless about you,” the man stated, looking him over briefly, though he kept his distance as Pym pointed towards a chair.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to make sure that the energy fluctuations and potential overcharging of your reactor haven’t caused any health complications” Pym instructed by way of greeting, glancing briefly to Stephen to make sure the dragon wasn’t going to raise any issue before settling his gaze on Tony again in askance.

Tony hesitated for a long while at that. His reactor was something even his father didn’t have a lot of information about, and the idea of letting the Enchanting professor take a look was a little nerve-wracking, but at the same time he had told Stephen he’d let people check him over to make sure he was okay - and that included the thing that kept his heart running. 

So he perched himself on the chair and opened up his shirt to allow the man to take a look, despite his slight unease. The professor gave a kind smile at that and knelt in front of the chair to begin his examination.

Professor Pym poked around the reactor, analyzing its inputs and throughputs. He didn't use any machine to measure its capacity in any sense but seemed to concentrate on his own innate connection to the arcane in order to measure Tony's situation.

He was quiet as he worked, listening to the pulsing of his heart, the hum of the reactor and finally, he grabbed the band of an ECG and strapped it around Tony's arm.

They all sat around as the band inflated and put pressure on his upper bicep, took a reading and then deflated. It was removed, Stephen watching along curiously and not entirely understanding the process indicated by the tilting of his head and the twitching of his ears.

Pym looked at the monitor and then finally spoke up again, breaking the silent air in the room.

"It would appear that everything right now is mostly fine. Your heart rate is a little higher than normal, but that can only be from the discharge from your reactor. I sense some stress on it right now and the stress will return if you end up using more powerful magic in your current state. However I have a remedy for this and it's a lot simpler than you think, wait here a moment." The professor left the room, returning a few minutes later.

He came back and handed Tony a small gem, much similar to the crystal in Tony's chest. Everyone missed when Stephen's ears swivelled and pinned back as if the drake took issue with Pym handing something to Tony.

"It's rather archaic, but the simple solution to dealing with the excess of arcane energy is to use a focus." Tony furrowed his brow, slowly registering what Pym was trying to say. "Channeling your magic through relic or an object with a focus could help take the stress that the reactor is putting on your heart," he explained simply.

"So you want me to walk around casting spells with a wand."

"If you would like to use a wand as a focus, then by all means. But no, I didn't mean in the literal sense, you need something to take the stress of the discharged arcane energy your body is straining to handle. If not, you will see some significant strain on your body while you engage in the arcane, or worse the magic will start to bleed and become uncontrollable. Mr. Stark you are, figuratively speaking, a walking lightning rod, and anyone or anything that gets closed to you could potentially be electrocuted, if that metaphor makes sense."

"Yeah - I got that," Tony groaned, hating that the professor was over explaining something he already understood.

Stephen gave a small noise of displeasure before wrapping his arms and tail around Tony somewhat possessively when the professor finally stood and moved away. “It won’t hurt him-”

“I am well aware of that,” Stephen retorted quickly, sinking his head down against Tony’s shoulder as he inspected the focus.

“What’s the deal, Stephen?”

The professors looked at one another before a small smile lit the Enchanting professor’s face. “Are you unhappy that I gave your master something?”

Stephen gave a low grumble at that, simply holding Tony closer against him, leaving the summoner to roll his eyes dramatically. “Stephen, really?”

“You protested for so long when I gave you things! And you take this shiny crystal so easily?”

“It’s for my well-being. I would’ve thought you’d appreciated that,” Tony reached up to ruffle the dragon’s hair as the other huffed.

“I have not confiscated it, have I?” Stephen murmured softly.

“What’s with you? You’ve been acting strangely since we got back, what is all this?”

“... worried about you…” the dragon responded even more quietly, and Tony had to strain to hear him.

“I’m not going anywhere. You kept me safe, right? Now I’m here. We’ll be fine, sweetheart, you just relax some. I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s for certain,” Selvig piped up, finally waving them over. “We’ve got a lot of readings and information from what happened. Stephen, did you get a feel for what the energy signatures were like? Do you think you could trace them?”

"Without a doubt, Professor Selvig," Stephen immediately spoke up, ears perking. "When my summoner is ready, we will be able to depart, and I will be able to hone in on that Sanctum's exact locations effortlessly. We will tackle those that are above ground and then save the sunken temples for last," Stephen nodded and Tony only leaned back into the man whose arms were possessively wrapped around his midsection.

"I would highly encourage you and your summoner to get rest, after all, the first location was riddled with danger. Perhaps more defensive measures will need to be taken in this case for the others," Pym looked over to Selvig and the professor nodded.

"I would like to send an escort with you, a friend perhaps on the next mission, maybe one of our professors or gifted students to make sure that you have back-up in case anything should happen. I don't expect just you to go in alone. The more protected you are better to hold your ground until you can call for faculty help," Selvig added.

"I have to say, what the two of you have done for us has been near miraculous. It was only recently I was able to conjure a portal to the Sanctum I sent you to, due to the wards and spells holding off intruders and outsiders. Normally, transportation wouldn't be so easy but with research and the fact that the guardians had vanished, we were able to make it there. I am highly concerned about the states of the other Sanctums now," Selvig rubbed his stubbly chin.

"I don't think that will be necessary. Stephen could handle his own, and so could I. We only hit some minor complications but I assure you that the next time we come across anything we might think we wouldn't be able to handle, we won't hesitate to call for backup," Tony added, he ran his hands over Stephen's which were seemingly shaking a lot more than usual.

Pym looked to Selvig and they both nodded. Stephen's ears swivelled attentively and Tony looked up to his guardian with a smile. 

"We had this the first time, and we will have this again. I'm fine now too," he teased and the drake rumbled softly with discontent.

“I will be the judge of that, summoner,” the dragon grumbled, kissing at his jaw some as the professors rather pointedly looked away.

“Well, we’ll have you by tomorrow and see how you’re feeling about continuing on your trip, shall we? In the meantime have a rest, relax. Perhaps consider visiting with some friends or…”

“You may want to go see Bruce Banner,” Pym interjected. “He was admitted to the hospital late last night.”

“Bruce?” Tony inquired, sitting up straighter to look at them, and Stephen’s ears perked more pointedly as he likewise displayed his attentiveness. “What happened to Bruce?”

\---

“Scourge…” Tony could barely believe what he was seeing as Bruce gave him a weak smile but didn’t wave from his bed. “This makes no sense, how…”

“It’s not as though anyone knows why people become afflicted, Tony,” Bruce clarified softly, leaning back in his spot and leaving the blackened tips of his fingers resting on contrastingly white blankets. Stephen refused to get closer, pacing back and forth at the end of the bed as Tony approached and sat beside him.

Tony offered a hand and Bruce took a moment before resting his own in the summoner’s hand. “When? What were you doing? How did it-”

“I was practicing summoning,” Bruce shrugged softly, heaving a heavy sigh. “Nothing hurts yet. Not really. It just feels like a cold aching in my fingertips. But… I know how this goes.”

"It's just… so sudden, I-" Tony started and Bruce flashed him a sad, weakened smile.

Tony was well aware of what would happen, his chest ran cold with realization, though it was hard to entirely interpret and absorb the realization that his friend was actually sentenced to death from the ailment he'd contracted.

"Tony… really it's-"

"Don't say that this is nothing or anything to worry about," Tony grit his teeth. Of all the forms of emotions his energy chose to manifest itself in, frustration seemed to come out on top.

Bruce stayed quiet and smiled sadly to himself.

"If it means anything, Tony, I don't feel weak, but the doctors suggested I should hang around here. They have this new experimental remedy, wild magic therapy which has been promising with a bunch of trials," he smiled sadly up at Tony and he could hardly look his friend in the eye.

"And you haven't even told anyone yet..."

"No… not really..." Bruce started, looking to Stephen who had a very sombre look on his face.

"Please… don't tell Thor. I-"

"Bruce. Do you realize… what this means?" Tony's voice started to crack and he felt clawed hands on his shoulders, pulling him away and gently soothing him.

"That's enough Tony..." Stephen murmured attempting to guide him back, switching places with the engineer.

"I know not much of this sickness but you reek of wild magic," Stephen grimaced and moved forward to inspect Bruce's hands. "I can slow the decay… but that is the most I can do for you Bruce," the drake looked over his friend and then regarded Tony who was behind him, pacing back and forth, shaking his head almost hysteric.

"Anything, I know I don't have much time. The sickness seems to set in quick, I... checked myself in," he admitted sadly.

Stephen reached out and grabbed Bruce's hands and chanted something quietly before putting his hands down.

"I have blocked your magic temporarily… what I know of the scourge is it infiltrates and affects those targeted through their connection to magic. So long as that enchantment sets, it will delay the decay by tenfold… but that's the best I can do for now..."

“You really don’t want Thor to know? I mean, he’s going to find out eventually. Or just… find out you’re dead… is that really something you want?” Tony inquired quietly, pausing in his pacing to glance at the bed.

“I don’t want to put him through any of it. I don’t want him stuck at my bedside, sad and regretful, I don’t want him to not have a chance to say goodbye if that’s how it happens, I don’t want him to be frustrated and angry about the idea that he can’t do anything about it, I don’t want him to feel hopeless but put on a brave smile for me… I just…” Bruce sighed heavily and leaned back into his spot, flexing his fingers slightly and closing his eyes. 

“I just wanted to spend some time cuddling with him and watching movies, you know? I want the treatment to work, so I can go back to having fun, like we had been before.”

“My brother would fight for you, you know,” another voice piped up as Loki arrived, looking rather concerned. “He would scour the world to find a way to remedy your ailment.”

“... Loki,” Bruce acknowledged softly, “what brings you?”

“I came looking for Tony. Instead, I found all of this mess. Thor has never lost someone before, and he is absolutely infatuated with you. Are you certain this is the course of action you wish to take? Are you certain you would choose to remain here, alone, rather than at least having companionship?”

“I need some time to come to terms with what’s going on, at least. They may be able to do something about this. I don’t want to worry him for nothing,” Bruce insisted, and Loki tilted his head at that, before looking to Stephen and Tony.

“I can actively maintain your spell well while you two are away if need be…”

"Bruce..." Tony walked up to the side of the bed. "Wouldn't that be a good thing? Even though his summoning skills aren't great he's still a very skilled combat mage. Would it really be a bad thing if he wanted to help us? I have a feeling that the Sanctums and the work I'm doing with Selvig ties in with Centralia, which ultimately ties in with the outbreak. I can't explain how it all connects but if Loki can help control the spread then we could actually have a chance."

"I appreciate that Tony, but let’s be real here," Bruce regarded him with a melancholic smile and the engineer felt his stomach sink at the candid truth that Bruce understood his predicament fully and was trying to come to terms with his situation.

"I am trying to be real," he clenched his fist in indignation and let out a breath. Stephen placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him away, standing beside Loki. For once, being in the other drake's presence wasn't vexing him. "I actually believe I'm onto something, I know this all ties into itself somehow..."

"If you are really up to the task, Loki, and you can hold the enchantment while I am absent, then Bruce will have a fighting chance. But Bruce," Stephen regarded him. "Thor will come looking for you upon realizing your absence, especially if his brother is with you."

"Bruce is a friend of mine and means far too much to that oaf-brother of mine for me to let go. Can you imagine how much moping that big sap would do if he passed?" Loki defended softly.

Bruce sighed. "Thanks, guys, I appreciate it and I'm rooting for you..." The engineer stayed quiet, rather than moping around he was almost trying to formulate his thoughts on the matter.

“Shall we stay here while you recover, my summoner?” Stephen inquired gently, looking around the room before pulling a chair closer to the bedside for Tony. “There are few safer places for you to be if something goes awry, and we are likely as not to head out again tomorrow… spending time with friends may be ideal.”

“I would absolutely love to hear what you’ve been up to. It would be a great distraction from the ceiling, I’m sure. I don’t like feeling like an invalid here, but I didn’t think ahead enough to bring reading material or anything,” Bruce lamented. Tony chuckled a little and sat in the chair Stephen offered, glancing at the drake.

“Would you be so kind as to fetch Bruce some books on summoning, Stephen?” he asked, taking one of the dragon’s hands and pressing a kiss to it, watching as the dragon’s ears laid gently back and his tail twitched.

“Of course, my silva, whatever you desire.” The moment his hand was released he disappeared to fulfill Tony’s request and Loki tilted his head at that before perching on the bed beside Bruce.

“You were barely gone an afternoon… what did happen?”

They spent the day discussing Tony’s adventures in the abandoned Sanctum, eating together and generally enjoying each others’ company. Stephen remained somewhat relaxed after returning with the books, despite Loki’s presence, and when the time came to leave Tony found himself surprised that the younger dragon chose to stay behind.

“I said I’d keep an eye on the spell Stephen put on him,” Loki smiled wryly. “I mean to do that. Rest well, and have a safe trip tomorrow, if you think you can manage it.”

“Thanks, Lokes. Have a good night, you two!” Tony’s eyes lingered on Bruce for a long moment, before he took Stephen’s hand to lead him back home. They had a lot of preparations to make before heading out again. Most of his things were still packed from last time, but knowing what they’d found at the last Sanctum, he wanted to make certain everything was okay.

The focus in his pocket felt heavy and warm, but warmer still was the dragon’s heart against his collarbone. 

He left the focus on his bedside table when he went to bed, but the dragon’s heart only grew warmer still as Stephen curled in with him, returning to his draconic form and curling Tony up in his tail, tucked under a wing. Safe.

"You know, my silva… I can do as much as that focus Professor Pym had given you… If you need me to draw in excess energy while you sleep, it would be nothing short of my pleasure," the dragon purred softly and his neck circled around to rest on the engineer's chest.

Tony's hands came up to cradle the dragon's head and he squeezed softly. "Whatever you think would be best for my condition. I trust your knowledge in these things, and it seems Pym and Selvig regard you very highly. I hope you're still not bothered that Pym handed me that stone and you're trying to compensate for that," the engineer smiled in the darkness, curling up against the warmth of those now ruffled feathers.

"Nonsense," Stephen started with a soft huff in the dark, "but if I am not encroaching, I would be happy to tap into the extra discharged energy while you rest, my silva," the drake crooned as he rubbed his snout against the reactor like it was some version of dragon-catnip.

"Be my guest, my silva," Tony responded in kind and the dragon purred softly, nuzzling his beak against the reactor as the engineer felt a degree of heaviness lift from his body.

As Stephen drew in the excess energy, the stress seemed to fade away. It was replaced with a certain relaxed feeling, a meekness and indifference - the stress on his body going with it leaving his limbs to feel like pudding in a cup.

"I know you can't always do it, and I don't know how long it will take to purge whatever energy from the core down in that Sanctum I seemed to have absorbed," Tony mumbled softly as his palm coursed over the round of Stephen's beak, "but take whatever you need… even if you are worried about me using that focus."

"It is not about that..." Stephen ruffled his feathers again.

"Stephen please… you're so transparent you could be a glass windowpane with your emotions," Tony laughed and the dragon flattened his ears. The engineer responded by squeezing him.

"You have nothing to worry about… I'm all yours, just like you're all mine."

“Always,” Stephen responded softly as Tony drifted off, the other’s soft, consistent purring easing him into his dreams.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything was cold.

Stephen had made sure he was wrapped up rather extravagantly in warm coats, leaving him feeling distinctly like a marshmallow. A warm marshmallow at least but a marshmallow nevertheless. 

There was snow everywhere and rising out from amidst the trees at the end of the long, stone bridge ahead of them was a tower he could only assume was part of their next destination.

The wind billowed loudly through these parts, whistling between the trees and through the valley around them, and Stephen’s wings were arched and spread to shield Tony from the brunt of it as they proceeded down the path. 

Tony’s hand curled into the dragon’s feathers to keep his footing on the icy terrain and Stephen’s claws dug into the ground where they could to keep them stable, his four legs giving him an advantage in the area.

“I hate this place,” Tony muttered into his scarf as he slipped again, feeling like he’d pulled something in trying to prevent himself from falling on his ass.

“There is no smoke coming from the smokestacks,” Stephen responded softly. “The magic in this place is… wrong.”

“Yeah, but we figured that would be the case, didn’t we?” Tony sighed dramatically, pressing himself more firmly against Stephen’s side. “Can you sense anyone? Are we alone here?”

“It is… like the other Sanctum. There is nothing alive here.”

“Yeah, but last time you said that there was sure as hell something alive in there. Something that was feeding on the magic in the place. So we’re going to have to talk about what you consider ‘alive’ in terms of your magic sensor.”

“Those were not of this realm-”

“So ‘alive’ means of this realm? Are you not alive, then?”

“I am clearly alive.”

“Then we gotta work on your wording, Stephen. Honestly. Do you sense anything from another realm here?”

“... I cannot. The wild energy here is making it difficult to sense anything alien from other realms that have encroached on this one. I cannot sense anything from this realm at all, which should be the easiest to sense because we are  _ in _ this realm.”

Tony gave a sigh at that as they approached the massive wall and iron gates that surrounded the Sanctum. Not unlike the last one, this seemed overgrown with thorny vines tying the gates closed.

Stephen tilted his head back for a moment, sitting on his haunches as he stared at the door.

“I could take us over the top, but the winds here are-”

“A shit show? Yeah. I got that. You had no issues around Dalaar, though, do you think you could? Those are… pretty thick brambles.”

“What is affecting Dalaar is not the same as what is happening here… I am not certain it would be safe. And I do not want to put you at risk.”

"I guess we are safer continuing on foot," Tony grunted, even though Stephen's wings were shielding them from the stray flurries in the air that still managed to filter through the fine spaces in-between his wings. They lashed his exposed skin like shards of glass and burned like hot embers.

"It doesn't look like we're too far off anyway, plus I could do with the exercise after all that cooking of yours," Tony joked softly.

"If you did not want me to serve you dinner then you know, you could always say something," Stephen snorted, his voice was louder to compete with the deafening winds as the gales ruffled his quills and flayed his feathers. "We are almost there, just hold on a little longer."

The dragon reared back and emitted a bright cascade of flame from his mouth, causing the brambles to wither and fall away, leaving the gates themselves twisted a little here and there before a heavy paw shoved the creaking gate open.

By the time they'd made it to the main entrance of the Sanctum, Tony was clinging onto the feathers of Stephen's hide for dear-life, using the drake as a means to help make his way through the deep snow and alleviate some of the stress of walking after his not-so-full recovery.

Another puff of dragonfire parted their ways through the courtyard and, once inside, the Sanctum held an unusual warmth and serenity to it which contrasted the blustering gales outside. 

It was placid and quiet just like the last, and the storm seemed to coincidentally let up as they stepped through the front entrance. 

Through the dusty windows they could make out the everglades surrounding the mountain without the flurries obscuring the view down below and the pine trees on the sides of the mountain. A light veil of snow fell through the air with a fresh dusting and the atmosphere was almost enticing enough to urge Tony to stay and relax if not for the heavy ominous presence that lingered in the air.

"Comparatively, this Sanctum doesn't seem to be in as bad of shape as the last," Stephen fluffed up as he shook off the snow and Tony had to shield himself from the unexpected swaths of snow that flung off the drake in the process.

"Hey! Watch where you're flinging that stuff!" Stephen grinned and folded his wings, walking over and brushing his side along Tony's waist to rub off the remaining drops of water.

“Ugh, seriously? Unlike you, I’m not insulated by feathers, you jerk!” Tony griped as he tucked his soaked scarf tighter around him, knowing full well that it wasn’t going to be very helpful, but desperate to make it work anyway.

“I will help you get nice and warm at your request, my love,” Stephen responded cheekily, twitching his tail a bit as he looked around the entrance of the large Sanctum.

“I’ll take you up on that. Later. When we’re not… here,” Tony sighed heavily as he shuffled after the dragon, burying his hands into feathers again to warm them up.

“That sounds fun. Will it involve a bed?” the dragon teased as they continued to wander through the abandoned, overgrown Sanctum. 

There was no doubt in Tony’s mind that the dragon’s teasing queries were primarily meant to distract himself from the uneasiness in him as they silently acknowledged the lack of caretakers in this Sanctum as well. Despite the lilting of his voice, Stephen stayed near Tony, his head swivelling this way and that, and his tail twitching anxiously. His ears twisted at every noise, from the rustling of wind to the drops of water around them.

“Could be in bed, if you ask real nice,” Tony responded, “assuming we get to go to a bed after this. If we go straight to the next Sanctum for set up, it’ll be another story entirely. We might have to keep each other warm while we camp somewhere.”

“... what do you mean ‘camp’?” the dragon looked at him for a moment, before another noise caused the dragon to poof up entirely, a low growl building in his throat as his wings flared.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Tony held closer to the dragon, shuffling in against him in case something was wrong.

“Let us get this task finished quickly,” Stephen huffed, slowly trying to corral Tony towards a staircase.

“Stephen, what’s wrong?” the summoner persisted, even as they began to descend a much less archaic looking set of stairs. 

Unlike the first Sanctum, this one’s stairs showcased the dramatic vistas outside for most of the path, though the windows were blown out here and there leaving the marble flooring rather slippery at times. He held firmly to Stephen to maintain his footing, though his caution kept him from sliding at all.

Stephen refused to answer his question, however, simply shushing him as his ears and head twitched around, seeking out sounds. The dragon was pointedly disturbed by what he was hearing and small growls emitted from him now and again as they descended the stairs before reaching the bottom of a well not unlike the previous Sanctum.

As ominous and foreboding as the Sanctum was, it wasn't nearly as disturbed as their last destination. Tony also had an inkling of what to expect so far, possibly not the worst-case-scenario but Stephen's en-garde attitude towards the site also put him at an elevated level of vigilance as they continued into the depths of the building.

Unlike the well in the last Sanctum, they descended the stairs to a basement which was much larger and more straight-forward. 

The room at the bottom was almost church-like in its aesthetic with its high barrel-vaulted ceiling, nearly veiled in a blanket of darkness the light could not reach.

Luckily, they had come across no bones or fetid corpses, and as expected - more of those dark, tar-like parasitic growths covering over the crystal, feeding off of it. Thankfully, it was minuscule in comparison to what they'd seen at the bottom of the well.

"Look familiar?" Tony attempted to joke lightly but Stephen was in no mood for it. 

Quills flared and ears pinned, the drake didn't even wait before he was conjuring up the same flames he'd used to dispell the last foe and completely incinerated anything in the area that moved.

The growths writhed and shrieked like diseased rats on fire and they burnt up in an instant with Stephen still on edge and glaring at the area around them. 

The light of the funnelled arcane magic lit up the room now that it was no longer shrouded, shining and refracting through the crystal hovering above it just like in the last Sanctum. It's light focused, splitting into separate streams which fed into charged holes in the roof.

"Well, you certainly wasted no time," Tony smoothed a hand over Stephen's back.

"There is no time to waste, especially with Bruce's condition. I cannot explain it but I am starting to get a feel for what is going on here, and I am sensing a pattern. Set up the beacons and let us be on our way, I would prefer not to loiter," Stephen's tail flicked pensively and his eyes darted around the room as if unconvinced that their trial would be so easy.

"Yeah, we'll be out of here in a moment big-guy." Tony threw the bag down again and set up the beacon. He took the readings and sent them through, then called Selvig.

"Tony, I just got your readings, good job. Did you two have any trouble this time?"

"No, it went much smoother but we did see more of those disgusting creatures, thankfully not nearly as many, and Stephen dealt with them quickly and efficiently."

"If you're feeling well, then you both can head over to the next location, I've marked a region for you in one of the beacons but it's up to the two of you to find exactly where to portal in."

Stephen made a disgruntled noise at that, hunting through the beacons to get an idea of which direction to go. His eyes glittered in the light of the mana streams as he looked a couple of directions before spreading his wings widely and huffing. 

“I know which way to go. It will not be a portal, as I cannot portal where I have not been before, however… I may be able to approach via slipstream given the cleansed mana stream,” the drake clarified.

“Did you hear that, Selvig? Think that’ll be okay?” Tony inquired of the professor, and with a thoughtful hum, Selvig responded.

“Make sure you drop out of the slipstream well before reaching the destination. If you’re encountering these same creatures at each one, trying to leave the slipstream in a polluted area could be dangerous.”

“Understood. We’ll report in shortly with more good news I’m sure,” Tony responded cheerfully, though he cast his gaze to Stephen’s ponderous one shortly after. 

“... you gonna tell me what a slipstream is?”

Stephen tilted his head at that, an ear twitching up before he explained softly. “It is more expedient than flying, considerably, and is a process by which one may follow the current of aether to quickly move along in a certain direction. It is an option between going by foot or air, and taking a portal.”

“But you have to enter and exit specifically on a leyline, kind of thing?”

“Precisely,” Stephen nodded. “We can enter or exit anywhere along the leyline, but you must be well attuned with it to do so. I would agree with Selvig that we ought to exit the slipstream well before we reach our destination, just in case, however.”

"I'm going to have to leave that entirely up to you, let me just gather everything up before we head out and I'll be ready to go." Tony quickly shovelled all the electronic devices back into the canvas bag, it jingled and clattered loudly as he tossed it over his shoulder and strapped it onto his backside. He double-checked the beacon that was set up on the ground, making sure it was stable enough and then nodded.

"Alright, I'm going to drop the call, Selvig, double-check that everything is good on your end so we don't have to come back here," Tony spoke quietly and there was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before the professor spoke up again.

"All good, and I have to say this again Tony, you two be safe, don't do anything I wouldn't do. If you need backup, then call. We are venturing into places that have nay been touched by humans in a very long time, especially Atlantis. There were no documented keepers so the temple might as well be condemned. You will have much more than just a few parasites to worry about there, the foundation's structural integrity even."

"Yeah, I got that. Alright, I'll ring you up when we get the next beacon set up." Tony closed the line on the communication device and then walked over to Stephen, running a hand through his ruffled feathers.

"You ready to go?" he smiled, trying to sooth the drake and Stephen leaned down and nudged his cheek in against Tony's.

"Yes, let us go.

“Hold tightly to me, do not worry about hurting me in the process,” Stephen insisted as he curled his paws around Tony before wrapping his wings around him as well. Whatever incantation the dragon spoke was well beyond Tony’s understanding, though there was a certain elegant beauty to it, and the warmth of Stephen’s wings around him became all-encompassing.

Everything became bright at first before streaks of colour began to flash around them. He could feel it in his chest, the ambient magic around him, but he couldn’t see Stephen, despite being able to see his own limbs just fine. He didn’t much like that since he was told to hold on.

“... Stephen?”

“I am here,” the dragon responded from somewhere nearby.

“Why… can’t I see you?”

“It… is difficult to explain. But I am right where you saw me last. Hold tightly. Do not let go. We will be near enough in a couple of minutes.”

“... I really don’t like that I can’t see you.”

“Lean your face forwards a little.” The summoner found himself complying, and soon enough he felt the familiar feathers and fluff, even if he couldn’t see the dragon.

“... This is weird as hell. I miss being able to see you.”

“It has been literally less than two minutes, silva.”

“Yeah, and?”

“I am flattered.”

Another moment passed and they left the slipstream, leaving the pair in the midst of an old, abandoned-looking stone village. 

Small bushes dotted the lands here and there, and a couple of small, overgrown gardens broke up the monotony of grey stone in all directions. A well stood nearby, and Tony could only assume they were at the heart some village.

Stephen was beside him again in clear contrast to the village, his colours bright and vibrant as he looked around, clearly perturbed. His claws clicked against the ground with every step he took, and he gave a low grumble. “This whole place is empty? This bodes ill, my love.”

“I hope you know which way we’re going because frankly, I have no clue.”

Stephen's ears swivelled and twitched, his quills fanned out and after a moment he nodded his head towards the east. "Come, this way my silva, and again, please stay close to me. This place is much more deeply disturbed than the previous Sanctum."

Tony nodded and began to follow, but stopped immediately as he thought he saw something moving in his periphery. He turned to try and focus in on what he saw but as soon as he did - whatever he thought he saw vanished from sight. He placed a hand on Stephen's back, walking alongside the drake and again, he thought he saw something as he turned his head but was met with nothing but a placid, life-less environment.

"Stephen… do you keep seeing that? It feels like there's something there, like..."

"-you keep seeing something out of the corner of your eye?" His tail curled around Tony and he kept walking, quickening his pace.

"... yeah, it's a little unnerving."

"Something is amiss, though I know not what.” His skin twitched as he thought he felt something unfamiliar on his back. It felt like wind ruffling his feathers but the air was stale and lifeless.

The duo continued to walk through the streets, house-after-house of nothing but empty and condemned buildings. Places that looked like not a soul had dwelled in these residences or lived in this area for decades. What was even more disturbing was the lack of life and colour in the environment along with the strange black shadows marking the walls as if something had been scorched into them. They were of human height and the further they walked, the more defined they seemed to grow. Outlines of people, shadows of crowds branded into stone as if they'd suddenly and spontaneously combusted, and Tony felt a chill run down his spine.

"This place is not right... it's all wrong, I can't explain it it's just… wrong," Tony took in a deep breath, the air feeling like it was growing thick with every step.

"I'd like to get in and out… as fast as we can, I almost sense the touch of the nightmare on this land..."

“Then you are becoming aware,” Stephen responded quietly, keeping Tony close and shuffling further forward, his ears twitching around him in distress. “This place is, indeed, haunted by a nightmare. Many nightmares. Many bad memories, and bad thoughts. I fear what has happened in the other Sanctums has flooded out into the village surrounding this one. More lives were lost here than in other locations… more people deprived of all of their joy and dreams. Their shadows are all that remain…”

“Shadows… that move?”

“Living shadows, yes,” Stephen sighed softly as he led them through an archway into a yard full of dead trees, with what may have once been a large fountain or pond now full of murky water. Tony wasn’t altogether certain it was water at all, however, and didn’t dare look at it twice.

“Are they dangerous?”

“That can be,” the drake retorted, distinctly unsettled as he guided them towards staircases to one side of the pond. The manor at the top of the staircase seemed to be their destination, but Stephen had slowed down, looking around them cautiously. “Be wary of touching the shadows. They cannot reach out to you… but the shadows on the walls and ground… are dangerous.”

“Stephen, I don’t see any shadows on the ground… should… should I be able to see them?”

The dragon stopped at that, looking at his summoner for a long moment before laying down. “Climb on my back. If you cannot see them it will be more of a challenge for you to avoid them. You will be safer this way.”

“... how do I always end up riding you? I swear, next time better be a fun ride or I’m going to start associating riding you with negative things,” Tony sighed dramatically, trying to ease some of the tension even as he obliged the dragon.

“Your dreams tell me that thus far you do not associate riding me with anything negative,” Stephen chirped in response, before standing again and making his way a bit more quickly up the steps and towards the large entrance to what might have seemed like a large estate home rather than a Sanctum - though each of the Sanctums seemed to have their own aesthetic, so it wasn’t for him to say this wasn’t a Sanctum.

“We should talk about actually doing that sometime. I would really like that.”

“I do not think that now is the time  _ for such a discussion _ , my love. Though of course, I would never dare to deny you such delights.”

Tony lowered his head in close to Stephen's neck as the drake stepped through the grounds. To be frank, he was incredibly emotionally displaced by the entire shadow theory and though he could only see some of the shadows, the way Stephen navigated the floor in something far less than linear pathing meant there was much he couldn't see.

"So what… would happen if I did accidentally touched those shadows…?" He swallowed looking around as the dark masses on the walls started to distort and become more gangly. Their appearances had gone from human shapes to macabre elongated-limbed shapes. The edges of them vibrating like the distortion from heat-waves on a hot summer day.

"They can do both physical and mental harm. I do not know to what extent but my instincts tell me that they are not anything you want to test. They are connected to something far more sinister than anything of this realm, a place which breeds darkness and insanity, a place which melts the mind."

"I regret asking..."

"It is important not to underestimate our surroundings. Expect danger at every step, as the creatures and states of these environments shifts with the wills of those who have left it behind, and that which took them away." Stephen trotted through the courtyard of the Sanctum, there were a few more bridges until they'd come across an old run-down gate, and what could only be a stone citadel or mansion.

Dark grey stonework looked splintered in some places as they approached, chipped in others which almost seemed odd. Upon closer inspection, the stone was not stone, but an eerie petrified wood.

"I really hope the next place we go to isn't as creepy as this, I'm just… so uncomfortable. And as much as camping out might be an option at some point, you wouldn't catch me dead staying overnight in a place like this," Tony balled his fists into Stephen's mane.

"We have hardly scratched the surface, no human could spend a night here without losing their mind or succumbing to whatever wicked curse plagues this land. Our time is limited here as we speak."

“That’s reassuring,” Tony muttered to himself. “Back home after this? My clothes are still damp and cold, and I don’t think me catching a cold is going to be of any use to anyone.”

“If we venture next to Atlantis, I expect it will be cold and damp regardless. But yes, it will be best to retire to Dalaar after this venture.” Stephen’s claws continued to clip against the ground, though the dragon moved more swiftly with him on his back. Tony held tightly as he looked around.

“You didn’t move so much when we were in the town, what’s going on in here that’s so-”

“They congregate to this place,” Stephen interrupted, clearly aware of what Tony was asking. “They feel the magic, they feel this place which bleeds between dimensional barriers. They are stronger the closer they are to that crystal… I am coming to suspect that those growths we have seen may be the shadows of the Sanctum caretakers. This place… the crystal here… I expect will be more tarnished than the previous ones. It will take more energy from me to eliminate them… and it may be more challenging to reach the crystal to begin with.”

As they reached the front steps Stephen hesitated.

“So how do we get to the bottom if there are more of them…?”

“... that is going to be a trick,” the dragon huffed. “I cannot very well burn the whole building and hope to cleanse it that way. It would require a good deal of energy, and may damage materials in this Sanctum that are worth recovering…”

"At first I thought they were simply shadows, but if they are alive and sentient..." Tony started forming a thought. "I thought it was weird that the sky was overcast, and everything here was grey and diffused… there's no direct sunlight. I know some pretty flashy spells that might work if you could help me amplify them, then I could cast a light flash spell," Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out the foci that Pym had given him.

"I can do that, good thinking," the drake began to mutter a spell under his breath. The foci in Tony's hand began to spark and glow and as the gem lit up, he shouted an incantation from behind Stephen's head and the room was filled with a blinding light.

The shadows dispersed immediately, scattering like a flock of birds to find solace in crevices and nooks around them. 

Stephen immediately advanced. 

"If I stop again you will have to recast the spell, I can only imagine they will be back quickly enough. We need to get in and out as fast as we can. If we cleanse the crystal we will sever the ties to the other realm." A simple unlocking spell parted the doors in the front and unlike the previous Sanctums, the crystal was housed in a font dead center of the foyer. There were minimal growths over the crystal, much like last time but the focusing gem was tarnished a deep black.

The floor around them was nearly covered in long stringy shadows and Stephen watched his step, not taking another foot closer. "Again, hold it this time and I will take care of the crystal.”

Tony nodded and muttered the incantation again, the room lit up again like a flash of sheet lightning and the veiny shadows shrunk away to the darkest corners of the room once more.

Stephen immediately launched a spell-flame at the tarnished jewel, burning the corruption free to reveal a brilliant magenta crystal. Just like before, the ley energy filtered through and refracted, lighting up the room and dissolving the shadows around them.

"I think that worked," Tony grinned and Stephen seemed a little spent from the spell. He immediately hopped off and got to work, setting up the next beacon.

The dragon gave a low groan at that, looking around the room and keeping a wary eye out though it was clear he was feeling fairly exhausted. “Please set it up quickly that we might return to Dalaar soon for rest. I do not want to simply assume that everything is in the clear, just in case.”

“I got it, I got it. Let me just give Selvig a call here… and if he’s got the info, we’re good to go. We can get cozy in front of a fireplace. Naked, even, if you like,” Tony teased.

“I am always naked,” Stephen responded with a hint of amusement, “but I am not opposed to you wearing that slinky white and silver ensemble…”

“Ohhh, are you flirting with me, sir? I’m still working, you know!” Tony laughed a little to himself as he finished setting things up and reached out to Selvig. “Hey, professor. How are the readings?”

“They seem to be clear. You didn’t have any trouble, I hope?”

“Oh, you know, just one step away from the mouth of madness, but we made it just fine. I have an exhausted dragon and another caretaker-less Sanctum, though, so if this is good I’d really like to bring Stephen home and get a good rest so we can prepare for the Temple of Atlantis…”

“Everything looks fine. Get out of there and come home safely, alright? I’ll talk to you two tomorrow about Atlantis and what we know about it. Get a good meal and a good rest.”

“Will do. See you tomorrow, professor.”

“... we can return to Dalaar now?” Stephen inquired as he dragged himself in a bit closer.

“We can return to Dalaar now,” Tony affirmed, wrapping his arms around Stephen’s neck and allowing the other to cuddle him closely for a minute.

“Good. I think I can manage a portal home… I will have to make food after a rest, though. I am… feeling a little weak.”

“... are you sure you didn’t step on any shadows, Stephen? Should I be worried?”

"I have simply had a constant strain on my magic, and this particular Sanctum has been addling me the most. I need to rest, my silva, and having that will certainly restore me," Stephen let out a deep breath and conjured up a portal. He nudged Tony though it with his beak and shut it just as quickly.

"I'll put you to rest and I'll get us something to eat. You need to relax, certainly more than I do," Tony ran his hands through the ruffled feathers of the dragon's mane, soothing the beast. "Did you want to lay down on my bed?"

Stephen hobbled over to the couch in the main room which was attached to the kitchen. "I would prefer to be near you," he whined softly. He slowly climbed up onto it, dropping his weight onto the cushions and curling up.

Tony grabbed the blanket off the armrest and pulled it over Stephen's body. He walked over to the drake's head and knelt down, leaning over to plant a kiss on the red mark of his nose before giving his crest a few gentle strokes. "Take all the time you need, Stephen. We can both check on Bruce after dinner, see how he and Loki are faring.”

Stephen let out a contented sniff and shut his eyes.

Tony immediately got to work preparing dinner, a simple meal of macaroni and cheese, home-made which he planned to sprinkle bacon bits on top of. Every so often he'd catch the corner of Stephen's eye cracking open to watch him, until the dragon fully passed out, tucking his head under the blanket.

As the final preparations were done, the engineer shelved the casserole in the oven and grabbed a book Selvig had leant him then sat down and leaned up against Stephen's side. 

The drake woke with the disturbance, only to rest his head upon Tony's lap as he read, waiting for the thirty-minute timer to buzz.

“Tony?” the dragon cooed softly in his lap, and the brunette glanced down from his book to see the dragon’s eyes closed and his ears laying back in relaxation.

“What’s up?”

“... I love you,” Stephen purred, nestling in around him further.

“I love you too,” Tony chuckled, reaching a hand down to stroke through feathers to earn a perfectly contented purr.

“Will you read to me?”

“I’m sure it’s stuff you already know. I mean, you were around well before Atlantis was lost, weren’t you?” His fingers continued to rake through the dragon’s feathers as Stephen tilted his head to direct Tony’s hands to the area he wanted pet.

“Not in this realm, no. But I was alive when the Atlanteans were still a part of this realm, yes.”

“How much do you know about them?” Tony set the book aside, moving his other hand into the dragon’s feathers to give Stephen as much affection as possible.

“They were dreamers and powerful in spell crafting,” Stephen offered amidst his purrs. “They walked our realm with ease… Lucid dreaming, I believe they called it. An apt name, as they were well aware of what they walked through without ever leaving their bodies. Unlike what is here, they dreamed and showed off technology that seemed infused with magic in ways I had not seen before, nor have I seen since. They were very closely tied to the elemental plane of water, and their summoners had a strong affinity for water elementals and leviathan - water dragons - as summons.”

“When you say technology infused with magic…” Tony prompted, giving the other a curious look.

“More advanced than the teachings I know of regarding technomancy,” Stephen chuckled, peeking an eye open to look at Tony. “They did far more than simply bring metal to life, it seemed as though everything they did was imbued in some way with both magic and technology at once. It was woven into their clothing, it was in the way they styled their hair, it was everywhere…”

"So magic was just a mundane part of their everyday lives," Tony continued to gently run his hand over Stephen's crest in a gentle motion before the timer ticked over and the alarm for the oven went off.

"One moment bud," Tony braced Stephen's head with his hands and gently lowered the drake's head onto the sofa. He stood up and grabbed his oven mitts, opening the oven and retrieving the casserole. He set it on the counter to rest before setting another timer and going back to join Stephen.

He reclined, resting his head against the dragon's neck and closed his eyes temporarily, trying to rid himself of what had happened today.

"So… what exactly happened with the shadows earlier? How did they end up trapped there in the village?" Tony started, combing his fingers through Stephen's quills.

"I do not know, but if I were to take a guess the village had seemingly fallen into despair, and when the lands became overwhelmed or eradicated by whatever force drove them away, their lingering regrets stayed behind and kept their miserable souls tethered to the lands," Stephen mumbled softly.

"What an awful way to go," he commented and closed his eyes.

"Indeed..." Stephen whistled softly, there was a moment of silence before the stove-top timer went off and Tony sighed, standing up and taking out the casserole. He set the dish down on the table and deposited the gloves, setting a couple forks and knives before taking a seat.

"Dinner's ready," Tony chimed and ladled out a serving onto both plates set, waiting patiently for Stephen to join him.

Stephen took a long moment to stretch, and Tony could see his wings and tail over the back of the couch before Stephen stood in a more humanoid form and stretched his arms above his head. His attire was more simplistic this time as he made his way to the table to sit, tilting his head in curiosity.

“That smells very good. What is it?” he inquired, settling into a chair and sniffing at the food.

“... is this really the first time I’ve cooked for you?”

“That I can recall, yes,” Stephen smiled warmly though he took a bite without waiting for Tony to explain.

“It’s… just a mac and cheese casserole,” Tony chuckled softly. “Simple enough to make. Mom used to put all kinds of fancy cheeses in hers, but we’re a little limited here. Not like dad sends care packages or anything,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “Still! I think it should be good. Let me know if you like it? You seem to enjoy cheese.”

“I love cheese,” Stephen responded after finishing his bite. “And bacon. This is delicious.”

“Are you just saying that to cheer me up? You’re allowed to tell me you hate it so I don’t make it next time,” Tony teased.

Stephen stared at him rather pointedly as he shovelled another bite into his mouth. “I. Love. It,” he enunciated clearly, despite his mouth being full of macaroni.

“Well, I’m glad. Where do you get all of your recipes from, anyway? If you haven’t been around here do… you literally get recipes from peoples’ dreams or…?”

“... I read cookbooks, Tony,” Stephen chuckled at that. “I continue to try new things when I can, but it is important to make certain that I am feeding you things that are good for you.”

“Is that why you never make dessert?”

“... baking seems… intensely challenging.”

"So, you're an almighty and powerful dream drake that can cast the most advanced spells known to man but can't master the simple art of baking?" Tony furrowed his brow with a wide grin on his face as Stephen continued to shovel food into this mouth.

"Summoner, I do not see you baking or making sweet dessert goods," Stephen paused for a moment.

"Well yeah, that's because it's hard," Tony shovelled some of the food onto his plate and began to pick away at it, cracking open a beer he'd set on the table. He let out a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.

Stephen gave him a flat look.

"What? At least I have an excuse!" Tony pointed a forked noodle at Stephen.

"You most certainly do not mister technomancy-double-major. Considering your earth-science plays a big part in baking, what with your measurements and all," Stephen retorted playfully.

"Yeah, well lay off, I'm no culinary genius. Magic and baking are two totally different things."

"Well, by the taste of things I would say you were. And no they are not, you just have not thought to apply yourself," Stephen smiled, finishing off his portion and going to serve himself more.

"I can say the same for you then," Tony leaned over the table to make a face and Stephen quickly stole a kiss from him across the table.

The pair spent the evening discussing baking and jabbing at one-another for not having the stones to tackle it despite both being accomplished and skilled geniuses in the magical field.

Checking on Bruce and Loki followed next.

The visit was brief, but when they’d arrived Bruce was sleeping. Loki, still wide awake, nodded as they walked in and Stephen raised a hand to check the warding spell.   
  
“You have done extraordinarily well to keep the spell consistently maintained,” Stephen looked to Loki and grinned after he’d checked Bruce over.   
  
“Well, of course. I’m no chump. I can handle a simple warding spell,” Loki snorted and figuratively puffed up his chest.   
  
“It’s no  _ simple _ spell,” Stephen remarked and Tony witnessed the moment the other dragon’s ego inflated further,  _ if it was possible. _   
  
“How’s he been?” Tony finally piped up.   
  
“Stable, no pain, some of the doctors have come in to check on him. They might want a word with you at some point Stephen. They’re wondering if you can tell them what you did as Bruce is the only one who’s not seen any spread of his infection,” Loki quickly glanced over to the sleeping man.

“We have a couple more temples to clean up, I’ll be happy to do that after we return, so long as Bruce’s condition remains stabilized, we have time.”   
  
Loki nodded, and Tony took that moment to pull out the rest of his dinner leftovers for the pair. The large glass baking dish was still warm thanks to an insulation spell and he set it down on the table with some forks and paper plates.   
  
“I made a little too much, thought you guys might be hungry.” And as if on cue, with the rich smell of hot food, Bruce seemed to stir.   
  
Loki leaned over and sniffed the casserole and smiled. ”That’s kind of you Stark, it smells delicious.”   
  
Tony nodded. “Stephen needs rest, but we wanted to check on you guys. We’ll do our best to stop by in the morning, give Bruce my regards. And thanks again for doing this Loki.”

The raven-haired drake nodded and Bruce woke up in time to see Stephen and Tony exit the room with a small wave.

When they returned to the apartment, there weren’t many words exchanged as they both wordlessly crashed, Tony half-stripped of his clothing. Stephen was the first to fall asleep, with Tony dozing off with thoughts of vast technological islands linked together in a chain and how beautiful it must have been.

The idea that the world had lost something so invaluable as Atlantis, and what marvels the world would have open to it now if the city hadn’t sunken beneath the waves.

* * *

“The readings on all of the Sanctums are looking great,” Selvig explained as he showed Tony his myriad of charts and graphs. “There are definitely anomalies - presumably due to whatever has been interfering with the leylines and the Sanctums to begin with-”

“Shadows,” Tony explained, feeling fairly good about himself for knowing now. “The remnants of the people who existed in the areas prior.”

“Shadows…?” Selvig turned a confused look on him for a moment. “What do you mean? Shadows can’t…”

“Living shadows,” Tony shrugged.

“Living… Living shadows are an illusion used to hide oneself. That’s an advanced Illusions specialty. What do you mean living shadows caused this?”

“A different kind of living shadow,” Stephen piped up from his spot behind his summoner, peering at Selvig carefully. “You are thinking of living shadows that exist in this dimension… these do not reside solely in this dimension anymore. These entities are trapped between life and death… they are solely comprised of sadness, regret, and the agony of their last days.”

“Like some form of wraith?” the professor looked between the dragon and his summoner, his expression thoughtful. “If that’s the case we’ll need to send people in to purify the area and make certain they don’t return…”

"With the crystal active again the boundaries between the dimensions are shut for the time being. Unless whatever those creatures were that fed off of it end up clogging up the energy again... or the dimensional crossover is being encouraged by an alternate variable," the drake seemed to think out loud. "Though sending people to purify the area would be best advised, at least to put those lost souls to rest.”

Tony stayed quiet, tapping his chin. There was a lot to think about in regards to the types of obstacles they'd thus far faced, and the potential obstacles they'd come across when they finally set out for Atlantis. 

He didn't want to come across more shadows, Stephen had seemed exhausted enough with the wear and tear of otherworld presences in the area.

The feeling of quills against his arm as Stephen's tail lightly flicked across his skin tugged him from his thoughts, snapping him to attention. He looked up at Stephen and smiled as the drake checked on him.

"The two of you are sure you don't need aid with Atlantis?" Selvig seemed to be rifling around for something before he pulled out a small dial that looked like a combination of a compass and a sun-dial. He handed the device to Tony.

"We should be fine, again -we will call and let you know if we need anything," Tony tilted his head at the object, "What's this for?"

"I'm not taking any chances, Fury handed this to me yesterday and mentioned it would be wise to take it with you. It's an arcane magnet, it will not only help you navigate through Atlantis but warn you if there are any traps laid. I know Stephen can probably detect anything in the arcane but this will also help point out technological snares that may potentially be set up," Stephen's ears flicked and the drake nodded his head as if seemingly allowing Selvig to offer up the trinket to his summoner.

Tony took the magnet and packed it away. "Thanks, I'm sure we'll be fine, we've handled ourselves so far."

“You two are my responsibility, I just want to make certain you’re safe. Not that I expect your dragon will allow anything to happen, but… a lot of the knowledge of Atlantis has been lost, and the Temple hasn’t been maintained…” Selvig sighed a bit. “I have a few old texts on the matter of Atlantis, but it disappeared well before the meltdown of Centralia, so it’s hard to say how much still holds true.”

“I’ll do whatever reading I need to. Stephen needs a little time to regain his strength before we head out, anyway,” Tony’s gaze turned to the dragon. “We’re going to be doing that slipstream thing again to get there, aren’t we?”

“In theory. It will be hard to say. The problem with arriving there via slipstream as we did with the Sanctum today is… I cannot say for sure if there will be safe access points along the slipstream path to drop out of it. If we drop out too early we may wind up in the water - and we may yet wind up in water regardless. There is no way to say whether the Temple of Atlantis is entirely sunken beneath the waves, or if something yet protects the Temple from flooding. There is a lot to consider and plan for.”

“What about some sort of shield?”

“If you can create a shield that will account for both the water and the potential pressure of the water, then that may be advisable. You would have to time it and begin casting just prior to our leaving the slipstream…” Stephen tilted his head, and Tony gave him a thoughtful look.

“A contingency spell? So that it goes off on its own automatically as we exit the slipstream?”

“That… may work, yes. If it does not, of course… that might very well be the end of our trip altogether.”

“Then I suppose I have some practicing to do, don’t I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	13. Chapter 13

Tony wrapped his scarf around his neck. 

Recently he'd had an odd feeling in his chest. On top of the dragon's heart that was constantly hot and vibrating, which indicated that Stephen was experiencing some turbulent feelings, his own thoughts seemed to curve more towards anxiety in respects to what they'd find.

As easy as purging the crystal and restoring the imbalance in the leylines within their last mission location was, there was something uncanny about the area, and it seemed like every different location had something horribly and disturbingly wicked going on behind the scenes, aside from it's missing keepers. 

It almost seemed like it was a nightmare made manifest.

The summoner slung his bag over his shoulder, bundled up tight, beacons, magnet, foci and all other utilities in check before he turned to Stephen who was resting on the ground like a patient animal. 

He couldn't help but chuckle, and the drake's ears twitched with his laughter, the pendant around his neck vibrating a little more.

"What?" Stephen barked.

"Nothing, you just look adorable laying on the ground like that. Like a cute little dog." Stephen's ears flicked and he stood up, padding over to him. He chose to ignore the comment, donning a rather mirthless look.

"I trust you are ready to depart then if you have time to joke around," he huffed and side-checked Tony. The engineer nodded with a grin, taking a couple of steps to regain his balance as Stephen dragged his quills along the summoner's side like a cat.

"I was ready far before you were."

"And that is why we came back here, for me to gather  _ my things _ , hmmm?" he tilted his head, quills flaring.

"Well obviously!" Tony razzed.

Stephen shook his head, hooking his tail around Tony's waist to drag him outside. "Let us be on our way," he answered almost shortly, his feathers twitching.

"Hey," Tony put his hand on Stephen's neck and he felt him twitch again, "you alright...? You seem a little… I dunno, off?" He had some concern for the drake considering how on edge he'd been yesterday. 

"I am fine, my summoner."

Tony didn't entirely buy it but he nodded his understanding regardless, Stephen nudging his chest softly to reassure his summoner.

“You remembered to bring my cloak?” the drake inquired as he paused at the door, and Tony gave a little nod.

“Yup! I remembered to bring a lot of things. Extra things. A change of clothes, in case I get soaked, for example,” Tony nodded. “So, we’re going to portal to one of the Sanctums and then follow the leyline to Atlantis, right?”

“That is the plan,” Stephen responded as he sat on his haunches. “You may want to prepare the contingency spell once we arrive at the Sanctum. Professor Selvig did state that he intended to send Abjurors with us to the Sanctum we visited yesterday to set up and try to purify the area. It may do us well to tag along with them rather than going on our own.”

“Are you worried something may have returned to the Sanctum? Is that what’s got you all ruffled?”

“I have no way of knowing what comes next,” Stephen shook his head. “The Sanctum is not what worries me. The Temple of Atlantis I have my concerns about. So should you.” That was the last Stephen said on the matter. 

The duo made their way to Selvig’s lab and together with a dozen Abjurors, including Doctor Palmer herself, the gathering made their way to the Sanctum. 

The dimness of the area had let up, if only slightly, and to Tony’s great pleasure there didn’t seem to be any shadows running around at the periphery of his vision, but even still Doctor Palmer’s expression was grim.

“... well, you two definitely made a change here, but this whole place gives me the creeps,” she sighed heavily as she walked through the building with them and they made their way into the yard, simply checking things over.

“I promise it was worse yesterday,” Tony responded, pulling the cloak from his bag to wrap it around himself for some additional comfort, despite Stephen pressing in close against his side protectively.

“I read the report Selvig did on your debriefing,” the doctor nodded. “I’ve… seen them once or twice, in areas that were quickly overtaken shortly after the scourge. I’ve seen it with a couple of patients, as well, those who died horrific deaths after brutal, unforgiving lives. We should be able to purify the area now that the leyline in the area isn’t clogged up but it’s definitely going to take some time. I expect a few of my advanced Abjurors are going to take their time going through here over the next few weeks, but I doubt anyone but Abjurors or Banishment specialists are going to feel comfortable residing here for any length of time.”

“We will leave that to you and yours then, doctor,” Stephen responded lowly, looking back at the primary building of the Sanctum. “We have a task to set to and I would see it completed as swiftly as possible. Tony? Your contingency spell?”

“The best of luck to you both,” Doctor Palmer greeted, before making her way to join a few of the other Abjurors in the area, and Tony began setting up his contingency spell as Stephen, in his draconic form, led them towards the crystal that sat at the convergence of the leylines.

The crystal sparked and fingers of electricity shot out and connected to Tony's chest, shifting and shooting off in all directions, surprisingly and reasonably contained but nothing any of the Abjurors felt comfortable going anywhere near.

The brunette opened his eyes to see a few of them staring at him as the fingers from the crystal evaporated and he just stood there bug-eyed.

"What?" Christine shook her head, and Stephen anxiously tugged at his robes with his beak before he turned around.

"Ready?" The cloak squeezed around Tony's shoulders and he wasn't expecting it when the dragon pressed him up against his chest, his wings coming in to wrap around his summoner.

"Yeah, let's go." The cloak's collar nodded and in a flash of rainbow light, the two of them disappeared from the Sanctum.

The sensation of travelling through the leylines wasn't as uncomfortable this time. It did take significantly longer but through the trip, he never lost touch of Stephen's essence and the cloak around his shoulders. He could still sense the comfort from Stephen's wings and paws around his neck, the brush of soft down quills against his cheek and Stephen's breast pushing into the top of his head.

Unlike travelling to the Sanctum, this time everything seemed blue when he opened his eyes, as he could vaguely see they were travelling through water. Minutes passed by as quickly as they travelled and soon enough their feet both found purchase on hard rock.

For the setting of a sunken city, the place seemed more like an overcast mountain ridge. Grey and purple skies above which flickered with bright magenta lightning and odd sprinkles of rain which shimmered iridescently as they fell.

In the distance were flows of waterfalls, streams which barrelled down from the heavens where shocks of light sundered the misty haze and Tony could only assume they were somewhere deep in the ocean that no man had ever travelled before.

At least for decades if not centuries.

"This doesn't really look like Atlantis, I thought there would be much more water."

"Keepers resided here at one point too, though, with the leyline destabilization that has been afflicting the Sanctums, the barrier that once kept the temple safe from the waters in the depths is now coming undone." The drake’s head peered upwards to the pillars of water that disappeared into the heavens above. "This place has been drowning slowly, and at any moment could be completely flooded, which is why I am unnerved, we need to act fast," he nudged Tony forward up a rocky mountain path.

"Okay, well, where's the city?"

"A good walk away, we can fly without risk, this was the safest place I could get us to land." Tony nodded and quickly threw his bag down. 

For this, Tony had been given multiple translocation beacons to triangulate their points of travel. They were water-proof and due to the unstable nature of the land, he'd need to set up multiple beacons in case something were to happen to the first.

"Let me set up the first beacon."

Stephen waited quietly as he did, his wings outstretched to try and aid Tony in keeping dry even as he worked. 

He fastened the first beacon into a small fissure in the rocky path, making certain it was stuck as best he could before gathering his things and climbing on the dragon’s back.

“I’m gonna have you stop once or twice to place tracking beacons, unless you think it’s too much of a risk,” Tony stated quietly as he held on, and Stephen made a soft noise in response as he took off into the air.

“For all the concerns I have about the stability of this place, I expect that if it has not collapsed by now then it is unlikely to do so in the time we are here, so long as we are quick about it,” the dragon responded, his eyes scanning the area with a certain sharp intensity.

All around them, paths of water cut through areas of stone and the plant life that grew there proved entirely unfamiliar to Tony. 

It was a thoroughly different ecosystem down here and his eyes were at once everywhere as though he could capture the images eternally simply by seeing them. An eerie light seemed to glow around them, and as unsettling as it was he couldn’t help but find it beautiful.

He found an outcropping that looked promising for another beacon, and Stephen set down there, shaking out his feathers from a few drops of water. Even as Tony set to work placing the beacon and trying to make certain it would stay in place a thunderous crashing noise split the calm ambiance around them, echoing through the area and leaving Stephen to puff up rather dramatically, his wings flaring as he let out a reactionary hiss.

“... is… is everything okay? What was that?” Tony inquired, jamming the beacon in place and quickly climbing on the dragon’s back again, despite it being more of a challenge with the dragon’s feathers puffed out as much as they were.

“Something collapsed,” Stephen responded after a moment, his eyes focused on an area and his ears settled forward quite intently. “A stone… in this cavernous ruin…”

“Must’ve been a big ass stone,” Tony grumbled at that. “C’mon. Two beacons should be good enough. We can leave one at the entrance to the temple, but… I don’t think we need to waste any more time on this.”

Tony completed this setup and quickly hopped back on Stephen's back with everything. The drake all too eagerly took to the skies and they continued to fly over miles and miles of what looked like a swamp, and then the first sign of civilization started to break through the mountain ridge.

Even in its state, the city still looked almost pristine as if it hadn't been touched. 

Brilliant stone-masonry elegantly decorated by veins and lines of blue lights Tony could assume were coils or conductors for the arcane flows. The entire city was massive and it was built in a circle with walls upon walls of different levels to the city, plateaus, buildings and constructs which nearly touched the 'sky'.

Parts of the city in the lower plateaus were nearly submerged underwater where the magic had weakened and columns of water drowned nearly immaculate looking buildings while other parts seemed to be vaguely wethered.

It would appear the city's state was kept near perfect by the magic that still coursed through the buildings’ aesthetic, and only those that no longer showed signs of hosting arcane currents seemed to be in lesser states.

The decorations on the buildings were almost woven of stone as though made of cloth knots but of a completely different look altogether, which was the best way Tony could have explained what he was seeing.

"Man, this place is something else..." his fingers curled tightly into Stephen's feathers and he only got a backwards glance from the drake as they passed over what felt like miles and miles of the expansive city.

"Lost knowledge. Were this place not in such a poor state I would opt to have you explore, but we have a task to carry out and the rest we can consider afterwards when the land is deemed stable enough and its ley line restored. Everything down here has been maintained by wards and spells powered by the world vein, if that is clogged then there is no telling how long it has been in that state and how long we have. Atlantis houses the second purest veins which makes me wonder if we will not see some serious traction from whatever is feeding off of it." Tony nodded, holding on tight as Stephen dove around another large pillar of water falling from the sky.

Water cascaded down over various pieces of stonework and it was difficult to say in some areas whether the effect had been intentional or was simply a result of the magic here waning. 

It was beautiful, in so many ways, and as Stephen drew nearer to a dome in the center of a large plaza, Tony found himself wondering at how the city had come to sink at all, and how long it had been since Atlantis was inhabited.

“The dome there,” Tony began, “it’s different from the rest of the architecture here…”

“It is much older,” Stephen responded, gliding towards the damp plaza, “that is the Temple of Atlantis. It was fashioned this way rather intentionally, that even if the city should sink the crystal itself would remain out of the water and thus accessible to whoever might seek to reclaim Atlantis. I doubt they predicted that the leylines themselves might become compromised…”

“No kidding,” the summoner sighed a bit as he shook his head, hearing a strange noise for a moment and feeling Stephen tense up under him. 

“What’s up big guy…?” the summoner asked, feeling something amiss in his chest. Stephen didn’t respond, his wings adjusting a little for a moment as he tried to make it easier for Tony to dismount.

“... be careful where you step,” Stephen warned, his voice a bit airier than Tony was used to. As he carefully dismounted, watching his footing, Tony saw it. Blood in the water.

He twisted in his spot sharply in search of the source, only to find Stephen’s white feathers along his chest stained with red and dripping, though he couldn’t see through the feathers to where the wounds were, or what had hurt him. “Stephen…? What… what happened? Are you okay?”

The dragon turned his head to look at him, nudging him gently with his beak before taking a few more cautious steps forward. “... it would seem… there are not only magical traps protecting this place…” Stephen wheezed softly, and Tony walked alongside him, holding tight to his feathers. They’d barely had time to touch down and use the arcane magnet before Stephen had been struck.

“Hold up a minute! Hey! You’re still dripping blood, we need to take care of this before we go any further…” Tony insisted worriedly. 

He’d seen Stephen exhausted, seen his colour drained away, seen him miserable… but the idea that his dragon  _ bled _ was leaving him anxious and uncertain. 

He’d never seen him injured. A part of him had been convinced that he was invincible where physical injury was concerned.

“We need to complete this task and get you home… the shadows are mounting here as well.”

“Stephen! C’mon, let me at least wrap up the injuries-”

“I will heal in time, my silva…”

"Not if you just leave it unattended!" Tony tried to reason desperately.

"We cannot linger," Stephen brayed and weakly got to his feet, though somewhat off-kilter. The cloak went around the drake's shoulders to try and alleviate some of the weight and effort.

"You're not fine, Stephen - what the hell?" Tony was hysterical, his eyes flicking around and he was on his knees in an instant trying to find something to wrap around the dragon's chest. 

He tugged his scarf off in a panic and hurriedly tied it around the wound, touching a hand to the scarf and with a spark from his chest, the fabric had shifted states into a thick gauze which wrapped entirely around the dragon's chest as he transmuted the item's state.

"Tony… We need to go, the faster we get this done, the sooner I can rest." Tony was baffled as Stephen slowly hobbled past him, red staining the floor from his paws as they walked.

"Stephen!" his heart was beating in his chest, he couldn't let Stephen go but there was nothing else here. He pulled out the magnet and held it out as they walked, sure this time not to let this happen again.

"I'll be fine..." he flashed Tony a weak smile and hobbled towards the temple, the engineer was immediately at his side again trying to help him walk, making sure to watch over the wound.

He knew this wasn't ok, the pendant around his neck wasn't warm like it usually was, and the glow and vibrations had faded significantly. 

Stephen kept walking, however, and with a ragged breath, he climbed the steps of the temple. Tony followed quietly beside him, making their way inside as Stephen’s tail lazily dragged along the cobbled stones.

Unlike the Sanctums, they only needed to enter the building to find what they were looking for and much like the second Sanctum's setup the room resembled the hall of a great cathedral with parts of the walls unlit by magic partially caved in.

However, unlike the others, this one was riddled with strings of black webbing with deep red eyes covering it like beads. 

The place was completely overrun and upon the dais in the center was the largest tumorous amalgamation they'd seen, guarded by some sort of monstrous growth, black and fleshy with one large crimson eye staring directly at them.

"Stephen... we can't, we should go back, get help," Tony was fear-stricken, but that idea would be cut short as their way out was immediately webbed shut by those disgusting horrors.

Stephen’s quills flared and a warning hiss left him as he corralled Tony close with his wings, his eyes darting about the room quickly. “They were waiting for us…”

“The others didn’t seem to know we were-”

“The others knew, in some instances, that is why the shadows followed. But these… were forewarned by the traps. By the blood,” Stephen growled to himself, as though annoyed. “I cannot simply light the entirety of the chapel aflame without burning you along with everything else,” he warned Tony, his tail twitching in agitation.

Tony frowned deeply as he tucked in against him. “... then I’ll erect a shield. Burn everything around us? Is that… is that a possibility? Will it be enough?”

“... it will require a lot of energy,” Stephen answered lowly, not really answering as to whether it was possible or enough. “Stay close.”

As though the dragon had to ask him twice, he allowed the Stephen to usher him in closer still, and as Stephen’s wings flared and he reared up on his hind legs, Tony could see the faintest hint of metal lodged in the dragon’s chest, around which the blood continued to ooze. 

He moved in to adjust the gauze to cover the area, knowing better than to pull out an object and how much damage that could do, he settled for simply making certain it wouldn’t bleed any further as a barrier swelled around them in bright amber.

Stephen began his incantation and the beasts around them responded with what might have been words of their own. Even as the aetheric fire began to overtake the area, Tony felt as though he could hear it. See it. A voice… a dragon… that thing from his nightmares.

_ ’You’ll lose him,’ _ it warned,  _ ’if you continue to interfere, he will be the first thing I take from you. And I will take everything else from you as well. I see you, Tony Stark.’ _

“Tony,” Stephen’s voice pierced through, and Tony opened his eyes, lifting his head a little to look into dulled blue eyes. “I cannot set the crystal… you must do that, and set up the beacons that we can leave this place.”

“You… did you hear the voice?”

“Voice? What voice?” Stephen frowned a little in concern, and Tony swallowed hard, shaking his head as he turned away to get to work.

“Nothing… never mind, it’s not important right now. We need to get you back to Dalaar. You need to rest and recover…”

Tony frantically set to work adjusting the crystal on its dais, with the lines of power all set in their right place with it, he let out a sigh and reached for his bag. It took him a couple of minutes to set the crystal again, watching as it lit up and streams of aether made themselves clear, including the leyline they’d used to arrive near to this temple. 

He tried to focus on his task - he tried not to think of the voice, of how pale Stephen’s feathers looked next to the brilliant crimson splashed over his chest - of how laboured the dragon’s breathing sounded. 

He set to work planting the beacons, hearing the echoes of water around him, the slightest sound of rocks falling in the distance, but not Stephen, which left him casting his glance towards the dragon now and again, just to make certain he was still awake, still standing.

Still with him.

He pulled out the beacon, his thoughts continually going over Stephen and checking back as the dragon had taken a perch and closed his eyes with strained breathing. 

He set the beacon down, not paying attention to anything around him but his companion.

Everything was fine, everything was going according to plan, he'd get this done and they'd get back, and Stephen would be able to rest and he could take care of him. 

_ Everything would be fine _ , he continued to reassure himself until something snuck out and latched onto his chest, beginning to siphon away his arcane energy. 

He instantly felt dizzy, it was stuck to him like gum and he struggled to pull it off only resulting in his fingers getting stuck to the creature.

It vibrated and buzzed, staring at him with its many beady red eyes and only when he was on the brink of passing out was it ripped off of his chest and tossed to the side.

Tony cried as it tore his robes to shreds around the reactor, and left big red welts in the skin around his chest. Stephen's maw was covered in black tar and he could barely do more than drag his back feet as he tried to make it to Tony, the glow in his eyes completely gone along with the colour in his feathers as he laid himself down on the floor.

"Stephen..." The dragon's ears weakly twitched, maw glued shut and eyes pale and milky strained to look at Tony as his head dropped to the floor and he collapsed.  "Stephen get up..." 

The summoner ran over, collapsing at his side. 

He conjured a spell and immediately burnt the creature, rage in his actions as the rest of it disappeared too. Stephen couldn't die, he couldn't, this was his fault for not being more careful and now he risked losing his companion.

"It is fine… I am fine, trust me my silva...." he wheezed softly and Tony collected his head into his lap.

His fingers ran through the feathers of his neck and he was terrified as those feathers began to uproot and shed, disintegrating into thin air, and he  _ panicked _ .

"What's happening?! Stephen, what's going on why are you shedding? Stay with me bud, please..." he wrapped his arms around the dragon's muzzle and the drake closed his eyes.

"Fret not… I simply need to rest love," Stephen whispered with a mumble under his breath before the edges of his feathers began to sparkle and turn to dust.

Tony's blood ran cold.

“S-Stephen what’s happening? Your feathers… no, no no no…” Tony’s arms wrapped desperately around the dragon’s head as he gave a soft whimper. “That thing… he said he’d take you away… he said-! Please, please don’t leave me. Don’t leave me alone here… don’t go,” he whispered frantically, and the dragon only responded by softly nudging him, white and bloodstained feathers slowly disappearing.

“I am always with you, my summoner. I am always in your heart. You are never alone…”

The weight of the dragon’s head disappeared, as did the creature between his arms, and Tony was left holding blood-soaked bandages, red streaked across his legs, arms and hands. He was alone.

Stephen was gone.

He was trapped. 

He didn’t know how to get home, he didn’t know how to get out of this place, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He’d been warned to stop… but he didn’t know why. He didn’t know what the creature wanted, what he was getting in the way of, or what the problem was. 

The creature in his nightmares had reached out - hadn’t Stephen said that they were friends once? How had things gone so awry that the nightmare dragon would kill Stephen?

A lump formed in his throat, thick enough he could choke on, as he thought the word.

_ Kill. _

Was Stephen dead? Was Stephen… really dead? Had he ignored the nightmare’s warning and gotten his friend, his lover, his  _ summon _ killed?

“Ste… Stephen, I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” he whimpered softly to himself, feeling the cold stone against his chest as his hands reached to curl around it desperately, leaving him to fold in on himself as tears slipped from his eyes. He curled up tightly as the thoughts encircled his mind.

He’d gotten Stephen killed.

He was alone.

_ Alone. _

It took him what felt like hours to compose himself. 

He needed to leave this place. He needed to return to Dalaar. He wanted to mourn, but this wasn’t the place for it. This place was dangerous… it had taken Stephen from him, and if he died here, too, it would make Stephen’s death meaningless. 

That was something he simply couldn’t abide by.

Tony felt something gentle squeeze his shoulders, then a soft fabric brushed at his eyes and chin trying to comfort him.

Stephen's cloak was still here, and he didn't know if that meant anything, but it gently nudged at the necklace and tapped his cheek again trying to reassure him. 

Everything had happened way too fast for him to comprehend and he could barely muster up the voice to call Selvig and request retrieval.

A portal opened in the lab and Selvig had a broad excited smile on his face until he noticed Tony's torn and bloody clothes, the red soaked bandages in his lap and the red welts around his chest.

"He's gone… I-" Tony covered his face, struggling with the words and the mood in the room shifted.

"Tony, I'm sorry. Had I known I would have sent back up in immediately."

"He insisted… I insisted... it was so reckless," he choked out, dropping the bag and heading out, not in the mood to stay for a debriefing. Selvig only stared after him, he let Tony go without another word, and instead immediately went to make some calls. 

The cloak hovered, looking between Selvig and Tony before following after him quickly.

Everything from his return to his apartment was a blur. He vaguely recalled summoning a portal, not having the energy to walk back. He didn't want doctors poking and prodding at his chest again and there was nothing worse than walking into an empty apartment and seeing hordes of treasure scattered all over the floor.

Everything felt so empty.

And so very lonely.

He took a seat and covered his face. He was in shock and wanted to lay down and sleep, wish that maybe all of this was just a horrible nightmare.

He felt the cloak prodding at him again and he swatted it away, not in the mood. It prodded again and he finally looked up at it.

"I'm really… not in the mood for this." He felt like death, worn and tired. The cloak tapped at his necklace again and patted his cheeks.

"What-"

The cloak bundled around him once more, nudging against his necklace, and flicking its corners animatedly, though his attention was drawn away from it as a knock sounded at his door, echoing through the entirely too empty dorm. “... who is it?”

“Tony? It’s… Loki…” the man on the other side of the door sounded somewhat strange, beyond his voice being muffled. “I brought mother… I thought… perhaps you might want some company and someone to talk to?”

“I’ve brought food,” Frigga stated clearly enough, “if you think you’re in the mood for company.”

He wasn’t in the mood for company. He just wanted Stephen. Or time to mourn. At the same time, he didn’t want to send them away, either - the feeling of being alone and abandoned still hung over his head. 

Getting to his feet, he unlocked the door to let the pair in and found that Frigga had done much more than just bring food. Or, at least, she’d brought considerably more food than he’d expected.

“You… really didn’t have to go to all that trouble,” Tony stated, watching the woman move to the kitchen to set out a rather large assortment of foods.

“Nonsense. We couldn’t very well leave you alone,” Frigga stated, and Loki closed the door behind himself, leaning against it. “Besides, I doubt there are any people more qualified to understand what you’re going through right now than Loki and I.”

“Mother in particular,” Loki stated with a shrug, moving to pour himself and Tony a glass of wine. “Sit, tell us what happened.”

He didn’t know how to explain the events, but even as he told them what had happened, he saw Frigga’s eyes drifting to his pendant now and then, and the cloak remained curled around him like a soothing blanket. 

The wine, as it turned out, was mulled wine, and it warmed his body and soul as he drank though nothing seemed to warm the stone at his chest.

“... and he was just… gone,” Tony finished, staring at his hands, “I was alone in the Temple of Atlantis… and I don’t know what to do. I… I never wanted a summon, and now… there’s nothing I want more than to have him back… I… I got him killed.”

Frigga and Loki sat in silence for a long moment, though he heard Loki fiddling around. Frigga was the first to speak.

“Do you know why they call the feeling of having lost a loved one having a ‘broken heart’?”

“Because it feels as though your heart has been torn and shredded and left in pieces?” Tony inquired as he held his own chest and finished off his wine. Loki was quick to refill it.

“While that’s a fair and common assumption, it is not where the true meaning of it comes from. But only those who have been loved by dragons would know the truth, anyway,” Frigga’s hand rested over the pendant on her chest, pointedly.

“When a dragon dies, their dragon’s heart will break,” she explained, and Tony looked up in confusion.

“Their heart breaks, and their loved one is left to grieve their loss with nothing but memories and a broken dragon’s heart.”

“But… mine is-”

“Yours is not broken, nor is mine,” Frigga smiled a bit at that. “Because neither of our loves is dead, Tony. If Stephen told you he needed to rest, then there is no reason to assume that he means anything else. He feels weakened by strain, he can no longer retain a physical presence in this realm. He needs to rest and regain his strength. But your dragon’s heart doesn’t appear to be broken, nor even cracked.”

Tony looked down at the pendant, the colours may have faded, but it was indeed intact. 

He gently lifted the stone off of his collarbone to peer down at it and the cloak took its chance to go in and wipe away his tears again.

Sure, it didn't vibrate, but there weren't even any cracks or knicks on the pendant so in actuality, what Frigga had mentioned rang true. If anyone knew anything about the dragons, she did, and Loki as well.

"So Stephen..." he looked down with his puffed-up eyes from the amulet within his palm and curled his fingers delicately around it.

"He is very much alive and breathing, and he will return once he's recovered his energy. Summons don't perish as humans do from the physical plane, the only way you can truly destroy the energy of a summoned creature is by destroying its very essence in the plane of its existence," Frigga put a hand on his shoulder and gently rubbed it.

"As long as he stays alive in your mind and your dreams, he won't ever really die, after all, that's how he was summoned to begin with. Much like deities, they do require the belief of existence to manifest their influence.”

Tony gently sniffled and let out a deep breath, the edges of his mouth quirking up in a soft smile.

"Oh look, the summoner found his smile," Loki grinned.

There was a huge wave of relief, despite everything that was going wrong right now with Bruce, the temples, and everything else, a little light at the end of the tunnel was a nice change… and it settled him some to know Stephen would be fine despite his absence.

"Though it might be lonely for a bit until he’s back, he is there and he can hear you, he can feel you. There's nothing to fret about dear," Frigga finally removed her hand and looked up to Loki.

"It just means you'll have the honour of basking in my presence for the time being until grumpy feathers here wakes up from his nap," Loki reached over and tapped the gem, receiving a small shock which he immediately pulled his hand away and shook with a frown.

"That's enough, Loki. Shall we get some food in you two? You also might want to go wash up. Take care of yourself." Frigga walked over to the cupboards and pulled out a couple of plates, serving both of them. "I have to get ready for a lecture, feel better dear, Stephen will be back in his own time." 

Tony nodded. "Thanks, I needed that," he spoke softly and waved to Frigga as she left.

"Would you like to come and keep Bruce company with me after lunch? I'm sure it would be best to not be alone and I still need to keep watch over Stephen's spell. I insist," Loki looked as if he wasn’t going to accept no as an answer.

Tony gave a half-hearted nod at that, his fingers brushing at the pendant at his throat before starting to eat. “How did you know…?”

“Selvig called mother. He assumed if you’d lost Stephen that you might be in need of advice from someone who knew a thing or two about dragons and losing them. Mother had things she needed to do, though, and thought that depending on the circumstances you might be in need of a friend,” Loki shrugged slightly, working on his own food.

“How is Bruce?” Tony inquired softly, glancing up over the table at the half-dragon sitting across from him.

“It’s only been a couple of days since his infection showed signs, but it’s progressing very slowly. In all likelihood, without Stephen’s spell he would’ve had about six months,” Loki responded, sighing as he sat back in his seat, nibbling at some garlic bread. “With Stephen’s spell he might have nine or ten months… at the rate of current infection.”

“Not a lot of time to look for a cure, still,” Tony frowned deeply.

“Are you thinking at all of that voice? You think it’s Dormammu that threatened you?”

“I’ve had nightmares of him since I summoned Stephen… and the things that attacked us today reminded me of the nightmares I had, and the things that were chasing me. I… don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I’m starting to think that what’s wrong with the Sanctums has been related to him all along…”

"I'd say that's a pretty big leap but if every one of the Sanctums were all covered in whatever that dragon-mucus or ghastly entity you described is then it may help us to know that all of this stuff is interconnected. Stephen miraculously can hold off the magic so there's a chance he or Dormammu may be the ultimate key," Loki tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"It might be worth looking into the academy's history, and finding out more about Stephen's past with this hissy-lizard in the dark, mmm?" Loki took another big bite of his bread before digging into the heaping lasagna.

"You couldn't have underplayed that anymore," Tony shook his head. "But yeah, this only bolsters my hypothesis about all the anomalies, the scourge, everything has to be somehow linked to this Dormammu guy."

Tony poked at his serving with a fork, he wasn't all that hungry but when he tasted it, he was suddenly singing a different tune.

"Wow, this is actually amazing!" the engineer perked and shoved another forkful in his mouth.

"Mother is the best cook, and better yet is it always tastes even more amazing reheated, I think she got this recipe from a student!" Loki puffed up with the praise.

"So… You wouldn't have any idea how long Stephen's going to be resting, would you?" Tony inquired timidly, having a hard time with the subject.

"Hmmm," the green drake tapped his chin, "well, a normal summon could take up to a couple of weeks to recover depending on how intense their injuries in the physical plane were. All summons will retreat when they are critically endangered as their essences cannot be maintained on the physical plane. They are kind of like phoenixes in a sense, they perish, return and incubate and then return anew unless they were banished," Loki started.

"A dragon though may take much less time, especially with the pendant," Loki went to tap it again but held off remembering what happened the last time. "I imagine you'll be more exhausted, much more hungry, and require more sleep over the next few days as Stephen will be drawing directly from your energy, and considering your surplus I'd say that puffball might pop back out in a week or less," Tony let out a sigh.

"Have you ever considered that he might be able to hear you?"

"Yes, he probably can - and your point?" Loki grinned.

"None at all,” Tony shook with a chuckle, finishing off his portion.

“Good. Now that we’re at an understanding… shall we go see to Bruce? I wouldn’t want anyone to say I was neglecting my duties. Stephen isn’t the only one who’d be cross with me, and a life is on the line.”

“... yeah. Just… let me get changed and cleaned up quickly? I’ll meet you there,” Tony smiled weakly as he realized that he was still sitting around in the clothes that were covered in Stephen’s blood. He’d washed his face and hands, but he didn’t want to alarm Bruce by showing up in his state.

“Alright. We’ll see you soon, then. Take your time, Tony. Wash off all that doom and gloom while you’re at it,” Loki smiled a bit, waving and starting to clean up the dishes even as Tony disappeared into the bathing room, stripping out of his clothes and sinking into the hot water swiftly.

His hands cradled the pendant for a long moment as he closed his eyes. “... I miss you already. But rest as much as you need, okay? I love you… I’m so sorry you’re going through this… but you need to rest. We can wait on everything else… Loki’ll take care of Bruce… we can check out Watoomb - maybe with someone to accompany us? Maybe we’re trying to take on too much on our own… I’m sorry it took all of this for me to figure that out.

“Or… maybe we just leave Watoomb alone. Maybe we’re better off not interfering with all of this…” Tony sighed a bit, starting to scrub himself down. “... I dunno. I don’t know what the right course of action is. I’m sure you’d have insight… maybe others will know more, as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	14. Chapter 14

Tony had discarded his torn robes, he could have easily transmuted them into repair but it was something he didn't want to bother with at the moment, and it wasn't like money was any sort of object for him.

He grabbed the cloak and it wrapped around his shoulders, turning itself into a scarf with two gold wing-brooches on one side and smiled.

"I learn something new about you every day..." he smirked and the cloak gave his shoulders a gentle squeeze. He conjured up a portal with ease, stepping out in front of the hospital ward and headed right for Bruce's room.

He arrived to see Loki, Thor and Bruce all playing cards at his hospital table, having walked into a scene where he could have only assumed that Loki had tried to cheat his way through.

"-Brother you can't slip in extra cards, I know you have more up your sleeve," Thor was about to rip into Loki who was backed up in his chair before they all looked at Tony.

"I see I haven't missed much," Tony added as he walked in, and the cloak reverted back to its usual appearance, hopping off as he shed his coat.

"Loki's cheating at go-fish," the man in question rolled his eyes as Bruce accused.

"What, again?" Tony uttered sarcastically as if he hadn't expected to hear that and the raven-haired man flashed him a look. "How are you feeling Bruce?"

"Fine, some tingling in my fingers but everything's been okay, the doctors say I'll start treatment tomorrow..." he laughed and it almost sounded a little cynical.

“Good. Best that they get that started as soon as possible,” Tony sighed softly, offering a warm smile regardless. “I see you’ve changed your tune about Thor’s presence?”

Thor gave a little huff at that. “I came here to see if Natasha was okay, as she was recently admitted as well, and who should I find but my absentee boyfriend, whom I’ve been worrying about relentlessly…”

“I’m sorry, I just thought-” Bruce started, and Thor simply reached to hold his unscourged hand.

“It’s fine. I cannot begin to imagine what you were going through. But I will be here and support you regardless…”

“Another student was afflicted, huh?” Tony frowned, perching beside Loki as he watched the others.

“We are sitting on a wellspring of magic in Dalaar,” Bruce reasoned, “if the corruption runs through veins of magic, it only makes sense that in a place so abundant with it people would become afflicted. I’m only surprised it hasn’t happened to more people prior to this.”

“Where’s Stephen?” Thor inquired in an attempt to lighten the mood, only to receive a short look from Loki. Bruce and Thor exchanged glances before looking at Tony. “I… I’m sorry, have I said something wrong?”

"No it's fine, it's just fresh. I can't really skirt around the subject..." he sighed and tapped the dragon's heart.

"He was badly injured in Atlantis, attacked by something, he's back in the dream realm recuperating his energy before I can resummon him again.” The gem vibrated faintly as he clasped his hand around it and he smiled to himself. "He'll be back in a week or so from what I've been told." 

He pulled up a chair, the hospital room rather packed but it was good company and the room didn't seem too stifled despite the bodies.

"Loki and I think that something is going on with the ley-line activity. It’s going haywire as well as the scourge, we think it's all connected and when Stephen gets back he could have something to say about it. Until then, we need to head off to Watoomb to take care of the last of the surveying, I'll be taking a few of the professors with me in Stephen's absence." He started and all eyes were on him at that moment.

"If my hypothesis is right, we could honestly get to the source of all of this, I don't want to create any false hope but I'm not going to give up on you Bruce, you and all of this," he received a small smile back from the man in the hospital bed.

"Thanks, Tony, it means a lot."

"I want to go with you," Thor offered without hesitation. "If it will help, I want to help find a cure for this awful curse..."

Tony found himself surprised by the offer. 

"And of course I would lend you my aid as well, but my talents are needed here on this end," Loki offered softly as if he was put on the spot for not bringing it up earlier.

“Thor, are you sure you want to do something like that? If Tony’s going with faculty, it might be well beyond your capabilities right now - if that stuff took down a dragon, I’m not sure how well Fenrir is going to handle something like that…” Bruce reasoned quietly, squeezing Thor’s hand carefully.

“I want to do something to help,” Thor responded with a smile. “I feel like sitting here, I’m not doing as much as I could to help you. I don’t like it, Bruce… There’s nothing I can do if the teachers say I can’t go, but… the least I can do is ask. Get you back to your library as soon as possible.”

Bruce smiled warmly in response to that and gave the other man a light tug, leaving Loki and Tony to look at one another as the pair shared a light kiss. “Well, shall I let you guys finish up your card game? I should probably discuss all of this with Selvig before we get too far along with making plans…”

“You don’t want to play a couple of hands, first?” Thor inquired as he sat up again, glancing at him.

“I hear Loki’s cheating. Not sure I wanna take part in anything Loki is cheating at,” Tony chuckled a bit.

Thor quickly grabbed his things, a hand lingering on Bruce's shoulder before he gave his boyfriend one last longing look and headed out after Tony. The cloak joined once again, taking up residence on the summoner's shoulders before he headed out of the ward and portaled the both of them over to Selvig's study.

Fury was already there, along with Coulson and one of Fury's T.A's, Carol. Maria was there as well, along with a few other decorated and quite adversarial looking summons.

"Tony, I'm glad you could make it back, we are picking up some strange irregularities from Watoomb, we need to go immediately and I've already taken the liberty of requesting some aid for you." Selvig was setting the coordinates in the beacon.

"I'm sorry about what happened Stark," Fury was brief with his condolences. "Perhaps we should have sent help with you from the very start, we weren't aware of how serious the situation was."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I-"

"It's not on you, after all, none of us could have anticipated what you had to deal with," Coulson interrupted softly with a nod and in a moment the coordinates had gone off and Selvig was summoning a portal directly in front of them to the Temple of Watoomb.

"I would like to accompany everyone on this mission as well," Thor stepped forward.

"Thor, it might be best that you stay behind. You're unaware of the dangers that could be waiting for us on the other side, not to mention the wild magic rich in the areas closest to the veins" Fury spoke up but the teacher didn't look like he was going to argue much on it.

"Yes, well my friends have been hurt by this thing - I would like to see this project to the end, my brother has also aided me in protecting myself" the other summoner stood his ground and Fury simply shrugged.

"Suit yourself, think of it as learning on the job, but once you step through that portal there's no turning back until the mission is seen through to the end."

“How did you get these coordinates?” Tony asked after stepping through, taking a careful look around and keeping watch for any signs of threats or traps. 

A large yellow wolf stepped up next to him, giving him a start before he realized that the creature must’ve been Thor’s summon, given the way the other student ran a hand through electrified fur without a second thought.

“With how many beacons you’ve set up now, things are easier to follow. The leylines are a lot clearer, and it took a little bit of time as well as trial and error, but… I think this is it,” Selvig stated as he looked around.

They were underwater again, much to Tony’s displeasure, but the line of water was high above their heads, and currently, they stood in the middle of what seemed to be a large chimney, perhaps, structured in a dense stone that had been polished to a perfect sheen. The water didn’t drip down here so much as followed specific paths towards a central donut-shaped path of water.

The water was murky, and there was no way of knowing how deep it was, but in the center of the donut shape sat a dry but mossy funnel that led further down into darkness. They took a few minutes to reach the small bridge that gapped the inky blackness of the water, and Tony found himself crossing it faster than anyone else in their entourage.

“Is this what the other locations looked like?” Thor inquired softly as they reached the mossy staircase that led around a deep hole and further into the darkness.

“I mean, almost all of them had these spiralling staircases, but not all of them. Otherwise, this looks considerably different than the others. All of the others had their unique aesthetics… this is… something else,” Tony explained as he held the wall to keep himself from slipping over the moss.

The descent was slow and became increasingly dark as the staircase finally straightened out some, leading towards a small house that stood barely two stories high in a plane of moss. The moss itself had overtaken parts of the house, making it seem sunken into the ground, but it was the darkness around them that he found most unnerving. 

Maria and Fenrir both acted as points of light, radiating across the cavern, but neither of them could chase away the dark entirely.

Remembering what little magic he could from Stephen's abilities, Tony managed to conjure up his own little light. It flitted around the group playfully, nothing as glorious as when the dragon had summoned them, but it was something he somehow innately felt he knew, and it helped.

Fenrir stalked ahead - and Tony had to give props to Bruce for helping Thor return the regal-looking summon to it's a rightful and glorious state, rather than leaving it trapped as a canary. 

As they walked onward, it seemed like the darkness was once again a shroud much like the fog in the first Sanctum. Despite both Fenrir and Maria's brilliant colours, it wasn't able to pierce whatever dense, dark mist was hanging in the air. Rather than having her in clear eye-sight as she flew around to try and shed light on their path, her form only faded substantially with the distance.

Carol attempted to cast a light spell but it failed to work, everything seemed to be snuffed out by the heavy air and it became much harder to breathe with each step. "Nothing seems to really help out, and something's blocking my invocation spells."

The air had weight to it, and even with the waning of Maria's colours as she flew forth to scout ahead, there was no mistaking the glaring red eyes in the dark that surrounded the faint cottage-like structure in the cavern.

"Those are the things that attacked us..." Tony warned and the cloak around his shoulders flared pensively.

"So you had to deal with these creatures too? What on earth are they?" Coulson tried to focus but the eyes seemed hazy in the darkness, and they were everywhere that the blackness overtook.

"I can only assume it's linked to the nightmare, Dormammu, whom I've only recently come to believe is behind all of this," Tony narrowed his eyes.

"Stark, stay back and let the familiars deal with this. I don't want to engage unless we necessarily have to," Fury stepped up to the engineer's side.

"Oh, they are very hostile," he warned.

Selvig of all present seemed to be more intrigued than perturbed by what they'd found so far, the only one who wasn't on edge at the moment.

Bolts of lightning shot out into the dark from where Fenrir bristled up and were paired with the screeches from Maria as she struck out at their targets. Carol frowned, looking thoroughly displeased that her evocation spells had thus far failed.

“They don’t like fire, and they haven’t seemed to do anything to stop us from summoning shields,” Tony suggested to her softly.

“I’m not good at Abjuration,” Carol sighed at that, though she lit an aetherial blue flame between her hands that stayed strong - it wasn’t Stephen’s dragon fire, but it was steady enough. It didn’t put off much light, but it also didn’t disappear when she aimed it at a patch of darkness and the hissing of creatures made it clear she’d hit her mark. “... hm. Arcane fire works better than elemental fire.”

“Dormammu is a nightmare dragon,” Tony clarified softly, “if these are his pawns after all, it’ll be important to adjust to counter that. They aren’t simply darkness…”

“... they’re nightmares, fears, and horrors,” Selvig finished pointedly, looking very thoughtful as he did. Coulson looked back at him, then to Fury with a thoughtful look of his own.

“If that’s the case… then something from the realm of dreams would likely be more effective than Maria or Fenrir will be,” he stated briefly, and Tony’s heart ached as he thought of Stephen.

Fury gave a noise of discontent at that, before spreading his hands wide and beginning to create a summoning circle in the air in front of him. Red eyes immediately fixed on the colourful, bright lights of the summoning circle, but the professor paid them no mind. Maria cut off those that began to rush in his direction, pointedly protecting her summoner as he summoned aid of his own for her.

The beasts were mostly impartial to the pain despite the group putting a valiant effort into warding them off. Unlike the beasts in the previous temples, these creatures continued to bum-rush them and pain didn't hinder their movements in the slightest as they burned alive mid-charge.

"We could really use all hands on deck here Fury," Carol turned around, catching one of the beasts that attempted to slip by as the waves slowly closed in and the area became congested.

"I need you to keep them off me while I continue working here. It's going to take all my concentration to finish this spell," Fury continued to focus as Maria and Fenrir circled, prioritizing the beasts that grew closer to the group while Carol held up a shield, repelling any that touched.

Coulson flung ropes of aetherial fire towards the other unguarded side and they continued to ward off the droves of disgusting monstrosities as Fury finally finished his spell.

With a large piercing pillar of light and a thunderous boom, a large set of horns began to rise out of the summoning circle with shrill shrieks and wailing to accompany it. Something nearly as horrifying as the beasts they were fighting emerged, clawing through the floor and trying to break out of the summoning runes.

"Coulson, Carol - now, bind it," Fury yelled and each of the casters turned immediately and conjured a set of ethereal chains to ensnare the beast that was coming out of the portal as it rose to the surface.

A monstrous hairy skeletal body emerged, the creature smelled foul, looked foul with its horrendous face. Large black stag horns on a deer skeleton head with sunken in eyes - the creature towered twelve-feet tall as it climbed out and stood before Fury with an almost anthropomorphic body. It looked back at the group who'd awoken it, not at all appearing to be hospitable in the slightest. 

Its arms and neck were tied with ethereal chains as it stalked forward and began to tear apart the nightmare like it was nothing.

Tony couldn't believe his eyes, this went against everything they were taught in class. "You summoned a Wendigo?! Whatever happened to sticking to the mould and not summoning chimeras?"

"And did 'don't summon dragons' not mean anything to you, Stark? We need to fight fire with fire." The professor kept his eyes glued to the beast as if he was trying to maintain a connection with it.

"Fair point."

“Besides, it was always about making certain that  _ students _ didn’t summon things far beyond their ability to control. A Wendigo is well within my scope,” Fury added as the creature easily tore through the shadows, snarling in the process before turning to stare at its summoner and the humans binding it.

“Thank you, Goose,” Fury stated quietly, and for as fearsome as the creature looked, it gave a low grumble and laid itself down, chewing absently on one of the chains as though that would free it, before it gave a discontented grumble. 

“That’s what you get after last time,” Fury rolled his eye and glanced at Carol and Coulson. “You two stay here with Goose. We’ll get everything in order and we can all head home and be done with this.”

“I’ve got her,” Carol chuckled a bit, looking up at the frankly frightening beast, “don’t I? Come on, Goose, come cuddle with me, will you?”

Tony and Thor hurried past the creature with Selvig in tow as they followed quickly after Fury towards the house. “Setting the crystal in place again should be easy enough,” Tony stated quietly, casting an uneasy glance back at the Wendigo, only to see a small orange cat in its place, rubbing itself against Carol’s ankles. “Has been for the others, except… the first time.”

_ 'Stark...' _ a voice echoed quietly in his head as Tony approached the door of the small house.  _ 'This is the final warning,' _ the voice hissed and faded away.

"What are you waiting for Tony? Let's go!" Thor ushered, reaching ahead of him and throwing the door to the small residence open. There were some more growths inside on the crystal and Maria immediately dove past the door by Fury's direction and eradicated everything within the room that wasn't of this realm.

"Stark,  **go** !" Fury commanded. 

The crystal was directly in the center of the room and once the obstacles in the way had been dealt with Tony dashed forward and cleaned the crystal with a spell very similar to Stephen's cleansing fire.

There were no incantations spoken, no waiting, it was as if the spell was an extension of himself as he let loose the aetheric inferno completely cleansing the entire room. It left him to hesitate before he dove forward and fixed the angle of the crystal, setting it back into position.

"I've got it!" Thor looked behind them to make sure there were no more creatures, they'd all but fallen off as if the light from the activated crystal had warded them up.

_ 'So be it,' _ were the final words before there was a sinister cackle and Tony all the sudden felt dizzy.

His vision strobed and flicked as if he was seeing double, and he felt a sudden swell of heat at his throat before the dizziness subsided. As he pulled himself together again, he looked around to see his companions stumbling a bit, each holding their head in pain. 

The summoner gave a small start at that, watching as Fury recovered first, grabbing Selvig’s shoulder to whisper something to him that sounded urgent even as the man braced himself against the younger professor.

“Stark,” Fury looked to him sharply, “the beacons. Place them and then we need to get back to Dalaar.”   
  
“What’s… going on?” he asked as Thor dropped to a knee, feeling a hint of panic rising. Nevertheless, he grabbed one of the familiar bags from Selvig and began to set up the beacon as quickly as he could, watching first as Fenrir, and then Maria flicker out of existence.

“There is something here. Something making a mess of things. It seems we’ve tampered where he didn’t want us to,” Fury responded, looking at Tony pointedly. “But I get the feeling you already know something about that.”

“Dormammu…” Tony responded lowly, frowning as he set to work. Fury gave a quiet grunt of acknowledgement. “Hang on, Thor, buddy… we’ll get you out of here and back to Dalaar in no time.”

The big blond man didn’t respond muttering something and sounding very much like he was in pain. By the time he’d finished setting up the beacon, Carol, Coulson and Selvig seemed to have recovered, though Selvig just barely.

A portal was opened straight to the hospital and Thor was ushered through by the faculty, though with Doctor Palmer busy elsewhere, the other attending who came to Thor was unfamiliar to Tony.

Tony instantly collapsed the portal, hobbling into the hospital where his mind went blank for a second and it felt like time was standing still. 

He saw something in his mind when he closed his eyes to wait for the dizzy spell to pass. A flash of something bright and an explosion, followed by yet another distinct feeling of pure dread. He flinched, opening his eyes as the vertigo passed.

He took in a deep breath, finding Thor already been admitted to a bed.

"Doctor West, we need you to take a look at some of the professors and students," Fury seemed exhausted but holding himself together a lot better than the rest.

"Not now, I need a moment - we just had five more admitted."

Tony looked over at him nearly terrified. "...with what?"

The doctor only flashed him a knowing look. 

Right, doctor-patient confidentiality, but Tony had a feeling he already knew what the newly admitted were suffering from.

"Stark!" Fury apparently had been trying to get his attention. "You did good work today, but you should go back and get some rest," Fury insisted, Goose sitting on his shoulder grooming herself.

"Yeah… is everyone going to be ok?" Tony was about to spin himself an exit home, making sure briefly to check.

"Everyone should be fine, we're all just a little exhausted and disoriented, some of us aren't used to the strain of the nightmare's influence like you are, considering your exposure," Fury nodded. "But we need you in good health so we can have Stephen back to help."

“Stephen…” his hand moved to the dragon’s heart that had flared with heat earlier, and he nodded. “... alright. You know where to find me if I’m needed,” he responded, hesitating only briefly. “And… let me know if anything happens to Bruce Banner?”

“... I’ll see to it that you’re informed if his condition changes in any dramatic way,” Fury nodded. “Take your time to rest. Don’t worry about classes tomorrow, it will be a little bit of time before Stephen is fully recovered, give yourself that time as well. He’ll be drawing on your energy.”

“Yes sir,” Tony nodded his acknowledgement as he stepped through the portal, letting it dissipate as he flopped onto his bed and covered his head, quickly determining that was a poor idea when he was met with a pair of eyes fixed on him from behind the darkness of his eyelids.

_ ‘You cannot be rid of me,’ _ the voice warned,  _ ‘you chose this path.’ _

Sitting up again Tony groaned and made his way to the kitchen instead, gathering some of the leftovers from earlier and slumping on the couch as he ate. His free hand absently rubbing at the pendant, mulling over the day’s events. 

He was exhausted, he could feel the energy drained from him and he knew he needed to sleep, but he didn’t want to see that face when he closed his eyes.

Despite his best efforts, however, he found himself amidst a forest of crystallized trees once again and knew he had fallen asleep.

The dream was inevitably going to replay itself the same as it had before he met Stephen. 

It was all the same.

Always.

He'd follow the shadow down into what he now knew as the temple of Gaia, follow the 'lost' which he'd now pieced together as being one of those conjured by Dormammu's own visions, directly by the nightmare.

The dream made more sense, though it didn't make it any less terrifying, it only brought a clearer understanding of what was going on. If Tony knew anything about the dreams and the dragons that resided in the realm, he'd come to understand that if Dormammu's impulse was anything like Stephen's, then he'd want to be made manifest, and to do so he'd need a human to summon him to the physical plane properly.

But Dormammu was not being summoned, he was forcing his way into their plane, and it seemed to take much more work on its own than with the aid of a human.

Or was he really in fact trying to bring the physical plane to his own dominion?

Suddenly there wasn't fear, but  clarity . The shadows didn't seem so dark, the monsters didn't seem so fierce, and Tony walked on with  understanding , not following out of morbid curiosity of where he might be lead, but in search of answers to questions that could only be reconciled by prying deeper.

Nothing here could hurt him, and as he walked forward he felt the husk of a familiar presence surrounding him, each stride taken and the fear slowly ebbed away until he was side-by-side with Stephen again in a wordless understanding.

He pressed his hand to the drake's azure feathers and leaned in with a smile.

"Finally ready to come back?"

“I wish I could,” the dragon responded, turning his head to nuzzle Tony briefly. “I can protect you here to a degree, but I am not currently strong enough to manifest outside of your dreams, yet.”

“I miss you,” Tony sighed, encouraging the dragon forward as his feet didn’t seem to want to stop.

“I know. When you speak I can hear you, my love. I assure you, I am here with you always. I promised you would not be alone, and I meant it,” he purred softly and Tony could feel the rumble of it vibrating through his hands and echoing deep within his soul.

“... what are we doing about this Dormammu issue? He’s threatened you, threatened my friends, I have a feeling he’s threatened the faculty and… I’m worried about Thor…” Tony admitted as they entered the central chamber where the night sky showed itself again, and the multistate thing sat.

“That is what we do.”

“... I’m sorry?” he glanced at the dragon in confusion, and Stephen made his way behind the liquid-solid-gaseous object.

“... this is the object I spoke of before. The object that could sever our tether. It is capable of a lot more than that, and it lies at the heart of Centralia. At the heart of the Temple of Gaia,” Stephen explained, his eyes reflecting the deep red glow as he looked at Tony in contemplation. “I suspect it may well be what is tethering Dormammu to this place, and I believe it may thus be sufficient to send him home.”

Tony walked around the undulating form of the substance, looking at its ruby-red colour, it was almost like living blood, the way it moved, and it pulsated quietly with the beat of a heart.

"The only reason he is able to have any sort of influence on your realm is because its connection to the leylines, the rich arcane source gives the heart of Gaia some spillover potential into the dream realm as we have our own less affected - but mirrored signature. It is the foundation on which all the realms are built and it is how Dormammu has been able to come through the nightmare. My guess is he has been siphoning ley energy and building himself up until he can finally breakthrough," Stephen folded his wings and Tony wrapped his arms around the dragon's chest. The drake tilted his head with perked ears.

The nightmares didn't seem to get any closer, they were somewhat repelled by the heart, and there were no immediate threats at the moment.

"I don't want to sever the ties..." Tony iterated softly and Stephen gently laid a paw over his shoulder.

"Neither do I, silva, those were different times," he spoke softly with a nurturing tone.

"Though in my absence I have discovered its influence on the magic around us, how it has been warping the energy around us, thus the nightmare did not bear the scourge spreading through the land, but the heart is unstable and it is warping the wild arcane energy around us in the waking realm as they are all interconnected. A by-product of Dormammu's thirst to tamper with the fine line between the realms has ultimately affected the very fabric of reality around us."

Tony pulled back for a bit looking at the heart. "Can we not claim it for ourselves?"

Stephen shook his head. "It is not to be tampered with, tampering is what ultimately caused this. The only solution is to draw on it and use Dormammu's power against him, and once we’ve dealt with that which binds him to the physical plane, a host or however he is doing it - only then can he be sent back to his realm and destroyed. He must have some sort of physical aspect on this side which keeps him tethered, just as you are mine."

“If we can’t tamper with it then how are we supposed to draw on it?” Tony frowned deeply as he looked between the heart of Gaia and his draconic companion.

“Using it is not the same as tampering with it. But it will take much in order to appropriately handle the heart,” Stephen explained. “... we will talk more about it when you are awake. When I can see you again properly. I fear much of this will feel foggy and incoherent when you wake and there is still much I can do while I recover to ascertain what has been going on.”

“... don’t push yourself, okay?” the summoner sighed softly, running his fingers over feathers lovingly. “You need to rest and heal up, too. Loki is holding the spell over Bruce, I don’t think we’re in a rush but… there has been another outbreak.”

“Loki can sustain the spell, but I am not certain that he is capable of creating new ones for those who are ill,” Stephen grumbled lowly, looking thoughtful at that. “When you wake, should you remember, place the focus over your reactor. I will draw energy from it and perhaps I will be able to see you tomorrow.”

“I thought you hated that thing,” Tony teased slyly, and Stephen gave him a deadpan stare.

“I disliked how readily you accepted gifts from another, given how hard I had to work to get you to accept mine. That does not mean I do not understand the merits of foci, nor how beneficial yours can be in this situation.”

"Stephen, you know you are my one and only right? And had it been any other type of gift it would have meant absolutely nothing compared to the meaningful things you've given me in my life. You know it was all for my health, and even if you wanted to give me something more meaningful that did the same trick I would take it in a heartbeat," Tony gave the dragons' neck a squeeze, seemingly unhindered by the presence of the nightmare and the dragon let out a soft huff.

"I trust your words, my silva," Stephen canted his head and closed his eyes, and at that moment Tony opened his eyes and awakened from his slumber. He gathered the focus and hung it near his reactor around his neck as the dragon requested.

He had the answers he needed, and now it was only a matter of waiting for Stephen to get back for them to further aid those bed-ridden in the hospital. What Stephen had essentially discovered might, in fact, be the cure to decades of pain, and it was everyone's best hope at the moment.

Tony smiled to himself, the dragon’s heart around his neck pulsated with life and it was only a matter of time before Stephen emerged back into the world again. He went to freshen up, taking a shower and getting dressed with a new and positive outlook on everything.

He had opened up one of his books, reading a little as he ate breakfast and at that moment he felt a heavy pulsating, where his heartbeat was so vivid that the world faded away around him.

He blinked and at that moment the room flashed white and Stephen sat before him on the ground, ears perked and eyes closed, slowly opening as Tony felt his heart skip a beat at the return of his summon.

Bright eyes watched him even as the focus around his neck shattered and Stephen’s ears laid back as he butted his head forward against the hand that Tony had instinctively reached out. 

He curled his arms around the dragon’s head in no time at all, burying his face in his summon’s feathered mane before giving a soft laugh.

“I missed you,” he admitted into feathers and the dragon’s forepaws came to curl around him.

“I missed you, too, my silva. But I am here now,” he crooned softly.

“I thought you said you’d take a bit to recover still?”

“You have been charging the focus without thinking about it for some time now,” Stephen responded softly. “Excess energy was easy enough to draw on with it near my heart. I will still need a little bit of time to recover - and you as well, I would imagine - but we have much to discuss about our circumstances…”

“Please tell me you’re not going to immediately jump into work things? I’d really like to just spend some time with you for a bit. You know, remind myself that you’re alive? Because I totally thought you were dead there - and just so we’re clear, you’re never allowed to die on me, this is a no-go. I don’t think I could handle it,” Tony scolded quietly into the feathers.

“I wish we had more time to relax, my love, but in my absence, I have noticed the… changes in the dream realm. They are reflecting things here, and I cannot imagine this is going to mean anything good for anyone if it is not handled,” Stephen sighed quietly, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“So… we need to speak with the professors? Right now?” Tony whined quietly, holding a little tighter.

“Not right this second. But soon. Finish eating, if it suits you, and I will organize my thoughts in some manner that humans may understand. I expect I will take some time to discuss things with the other summons as well in an effort to clarify the situation.”

“How… bad is it?” Tony found himself wincing as he pulled back. “If the dream realm is being affected by what’s happening here, are we talking about the dream and nightmare realms… colliding?”

“Something like that, yes. I do not know why I hadn’t noticed it before, but I have been disconnected from the dream realm long enough now to see the changes. Time moves differently in the dream realm,” Stephen began to explain, and Tony nodded.

“Yeah, like how you can have a dream that feels like hours have passed even though you’ve only been asleep for a short time?”

“... I… suppose precisely that, yes,” Stephen tilted his head, “my experiences with the dream realm are naturally different from your experiences, but the changes in the dream realm seem more prominent for my absence from it.”

Tony finally let go of Stephen's neck, though he still kept a hand on the drake's feathers. He stepped back to look up at Stephen and there was a mutual understanding that things simply couldn't be put on hold, time was of the essence.

"We should see Bruce, Loki's been trying to maintain the spell you put on him but it's nearly run out, not to mention there have also been more admitted to the hospital. The scourge outbreak seems to have gotten worse and we haven't been able to do anything. I'm worried..."

"Fear not my summoner. In my absence, I was able to understand the magic and its source. I may just have a method to the madness, a way of correcting the altered magic and reverse its adverse effects. It is not Dormammu’s doing directly, but something natural which takes a simple natural remedy."

Tony was surprised, almost in shock. That would mean that their chances were better, that Bruce could get better.

"Seriously? You have a solution to this?! That's amazing! It's good news for everyone." Stephen nodded his head again. 

"It will take some time and energy, but after I have gotten some rest we can pay your friends a visit in the hospital. Bruce has time, especially with Loki maintaining watch over him. Those admitted will also be fine for the time being, though what I know about the magic cannot be taught, but imbued. It does require a connection to the dream realm in a way, and some summons might be able to help as well." Stephen walked over to the couch and fatigue was still evident in the way he carried himself, though Tony followed over fetching a blanket and pillows for the drake as he joined him.

"I just need to rest for a couple of hours and I will be right-as-rain to visit," Stephen mumbled softly and Tony nodded, pulling the drakes head over to his chest where Stephen was content to lay upon.

Stephen folded his paws underneath him, curling his tail and wings around them as he shut his eyes whistled softly as he gently nodded off.

Tony knew Stephen needed to rest, he wanted nothing more than to just lay around with his love, keep him safe, hold him, nurture him. But time was against them, an ever-present variable that waited for no-one.

They only had so much of it, but it was the thought that after all of this was done and over with, they would be able to rest and focus on Tony's studies. Bruce would be better as well as everyone else, and it was hard to grasp all that had happened within the time he'd arrived at the academy and leading up to this point.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter's a little late! Amy's been sick for a few days and had troubles focusing to edit, so today was a day-of-posting edit!
> 
> We're so close to the end of this! We're going to continue to post once a week because we don't have much of a buffer for after this, either. Holidays made a mess of our writing schedule in a big way, so posting once a week is going to be the best way to maintain a schedule while we prep new stuff to follow. Thank you all so much for continuing to support this story! 🥰

Their first stop was to the hospital.

Most people were too busy to pay them much mind, though Loki and Thor looked up when they’d entered Bruce’s room, with Thor gesturing for them to be quiet with a finger pressed over his lips.

Stephen shifted into a more human form to be more accommodating of the small space, his hands moving to carefully check Bruce over as he examined him carefully.

“I’ve done what I could to maintain the spell,” Loki stated quietly without so much as a greeting. “I am not as well-versed in all of this as you are and I’m not sure how much more I could do, but I’ve made efforts.”

“You held the spell well. Eventually, you will need to learn how to tap into the dream realm in some way in order to do more…”

“Are you anticipating that I’ll have to do this often?” the half-dragon inquired as he allowed Stephen to take over the spell for the moment, leaning back in his chair and glancing briefly to Tony to give him a nod.

“If we are going to cure others of the scourge… it is very likely, yes. The dream realm and the elemental realm are close, and while many other kinds of summons would struggle to bridge the gap, you are uniquely qualified as a dragon to access the dream realm.”

“... I’m not going to be able to do anything like that without being taught. I haven’t exactly had a dragon around to teach me how to, you know, dragon,” Loki sighed, crossing his arms.

“Yes, I am aware. You did arrange for my summoning for that exact reason, did you not?” Stephen glanced at him sharply, and for a time Tony watched as the pair stared at one another in silence.

“Stephen,” he cut in soon enough, “how is Bruce doing?”

“Loki has done well in maintaining my spell, as I said. His fingers are still showing signs of the scourge in them, but they haven’t progressed into the rest of his hands yet. I can re-up the spell, but afterwards, it will be worth checking in with the others who have been afflicted.”

“Carol,” Thor piped up, “and Sam. They’ve both been afflicted in the last day…”

“Carol?” Tony glanced over at him carefully. “What about others who were in our expedition to the Temple of Watoomb?”

“If others have been afflicted by the scourge I haven’t heard,” Thor shook his head, “but… we’ve all had some rather… peculiar nightmares. At least everyone I’ve spoken with. I asked Carol about it when she was admitted. We had the same nightmares. Selvig was muttering something about visions of a massive dragon and the Temple of Gaia before classes today as well… Fury is the only one I haven’t seen, so I can’t speak for him.”

Stephen stepped up, a sharp glance directed at Loki who appeared almost as if he wasn't sure of himself.

"Do as I do, see as I see, you will be the first to learn and you must help with the others. I will show Fury next." Stephen reached over and took Bruce's hand with his own, the other placed on Loki's wrist as he sampled the energy he was channelling into Bruce.

Loki watched with a vested interest, contrary to the usual magenta glow from arcane energy, the light seemed to take on a more bright cyan and azure tine as small beads of light pricked and surrounded Bruce's hands and the black welts and veins within his fingertips began to slowly fade back to his normal skin colour.

There were some signs of the smell, the stale rot even at Bruce's stage of infection, which just as soon began to disappear as Tony stepped forward to witness the event as it unfolded.

The light slowly faded and for a moment Bruce twitched as if a chill had just run down his spine. A brilliant light travelled through him to his other hand and soon enough his fingers began to glow softly just as the hand Stephen had taken. 

Loki tilted his head, gazing at the magic that wove between their connected hands and he seemed to stare on with a mild spark of realization.

"I don't entirely understand, I have an idea but..." Loki started but just as quickly quieted up as he observed.

Stephen let go of Bruce's hand as he lifted it, physical feeling having fully returned as he rotated his palm and flexed his digits, looking from it to Stephen, to Loki and then to Thor and everyone else, face lighting up as the pain had disappeared and he was relieved of the curse.

"You guys..." Bruce pushed himself up a bit, though seemed to fall back down against the hospital bed as the fatigue hadn't entirely left his body.

"Bruce, don't get up yet, you need to rest," Thor smiled and placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, looking to Loki and Stephen, but directing his appreciation towards the dream dragon.

"Thank you..." Thor let go and did something Tony wasn't expecting as he stepped back and the summoner pulled Stephen into a hefty hug, and the poor drake almost seemed distressed for a moment as he looked over to Tony who only let out a soft chuckle.

"Stephen, how did you…?" Bruce asked softly, confounded.

"Let us simply say I had some time to reflect on what was going on… when I was sent back to the dream, I had time to understand and analyze the magic from the other side, and the effects of the warping reality and the influence the ley energy was having on this world. It is something that as a dragon, I could sense innately. However it was not something I could confer to others who weren’t strongly attuned to the dream realm," the dragon turned to his summoner.

"Tony, I will be showing you and Fury next, I am assuming you and Fury were not affected because both of you had been exposed to the dream realm. I have come to believe that this curse, or ailment, comes from the distortion between the realms, and those who are not naturally attuned to its magical frequencies are the ones suffering," he spoke quietly.

"And that makes a lot of sense… Fury summoned a nightmare creature, not to mention Maria is from the elemental plane. And Thor?" Tony looked to the other summoner. "Let go of Stephen… you're going to crush the poor dragon."

Thor finally released Stephen and the drake took in a breath of fresh air.

"I was just so happy friends, but I understand. Loki - you will be able to learn this, and you're finally getting your chance to be a mentee," Thor smiled and there was a moment where Stephen didn't seem distracted by his territorial inclinations being so near to Loki.

“Are you planning to head out immediately?” Bruce inquired as he looked at Tony and Stephen, before glancing back down at his hand thoughtfully.

“There are a lot of people who require teaching on this matter, to save a lot of lives,” Stephen began, glancing at Tony for a moment, “but even in teaching them there are other things at stake, and prioritizing dealing with the source of all of this may be advisable.”

“Some people may not have that kind of time, though,” Tony responded as he watched Stephen in return, frowning slightly as he considered the options. “And besides, ‘dealing with the source’ is going to be a lot more complicated than you’re making it sound, I’m sure.”

“It certainly will not be a simple matter,” Stephen agreed.

“Then I suppose we should get to gather up people who can be taught how to do this… and talk to Fury. It’ll be fun to watch you teach him,” Tony chuckled a little to himself at that, before looking at Loki. “Are you joining us?”

“I would hardly reject the opportunity,” Loki responded, his expression becoming one of consideration. “... have I been invited?”

“Come, little dragon,” Stephen sighed, “you have much more than that to learn, but this is an important matter to start with.”

Loki nodded and followed after Stephen as Tony headed down the hall of the hospital wing towards where Fury was looking after the other faculty and TA's affected by the scourge. 

They all filed into Carol and Coulson's room who had been admitted together. Fury at their side, who immediately turned to the group of three.

"Stark, I thought I told you to get some rest," there was a hint of concern and irritation to his voice.

"You did, and  _ I did _ . Stephen knows how to help us deal with the scourge," Tony looked to the drake and he nodded his head, "I don't think this can wait,"

"I do, and I can teach you and Maria as well." Fury looked confused but nodded as Stephen stepped up and showed him a demonstration. 

"Follow my lead," the drake instructed as he began to execute the same spell and formula he'd used on Bruce, alleviating Carol of her symptoms before the drake turned to the professor and Fury only looked between Tony and his summon with an almost dumbfounded expression.

"We need everyone in their best shape. We are going to be heading to the root of all of this, and hopefully put this all to rest for good so we no longer have any more of these scourge plights," Stephen removed his hand and Fury seemed to understand based on the direction of the magic channelled through his hand.

After Carol was remedied of the disease, Fury executed the next cure on Coulson, and Loki observed. Rather than heading home, the group spent the day teaching and showing everyone the method of correcting the curse.

It expended a great deal of energy, and Stephen was starting to look worn and dishevelled by the end of the day, both of them were, frankly.

While it was safe to say that not all of those who were affected were able to be treated before they retired, there were also several people now capable of doing the healing themselves and it was that fact alone that got the pair into bed once more. 

Tony ate - not the healthiest of meals, but it was sustenance he knew he needed - before cleaning up, and by the time he was ready for bed he found Stephen already sprawled across the bed tugging up the quilt with his beak.

“Already prepared for bed, are you?”

“I am tired, my summoner. Come and rest with me,” Stephen whined softly in his spot and Tony rolled his eyes a little and chuckled at the dragon’s antics.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“You do not want to cuddle with me?” Stephen sulked exaggeratedly, laying his head back and giving a low whine. “You are cruel.”

“Oh I’m not anything of the sort,” Tony shook his head a bit as he crawled into bed, nestling in against the drake as Stephen pressed his head in against Tony’s chest and sighed, sounding oddly relieved.

“Did today drain you that much?” he inquired as he ran his hands over Stephen’s feathers to soothe him.

“Immensely,” Stephen responded, nudging against him further and draping his paw and wing over the man.

"We are torn between so many tasks, we need to put an end to Dormammu which will ultimately put an end to all of this, but there are still many in the hospital," Stephen rumbled, his voice painted with slight distress. Tony's fingers carded lightly through his azure plumage and the drake’s eyes closed in contentment.

"We may just be the only hospital qualified to treat those afflicted by the scourge, and while we do need to root out its source, shouldn't we take a little time to recoup? You can't handle all of this, and frankly neither can I. The world isn't our responsibility alone Stephen, and the sooner we root out the problem the sooner all of this stops," Tony sighed softly, pulling up his pillow and pressing his face in against Stephen's neck.

"Time is really of the essence it seems," Stephen mused softly, "though I think we need to strike a balance. Recover, we both should try to moderate ourselves and as soon as we have full support we need to strike Dormammu down." Tony nodded softly, letting out a wide yawn.

"We should leave Loki to carry on for us then, if anything he probably has the best understanding and is among the strongest with the capacity tend to them." The summoner stopped for a moment and Stephen rumbled with mild discontent. "You know he looks up to you, right?" Tony murmured as the spell of sleep started to wash over him slowly.

"Mmm… Yes, I have come to understand that," Stephen rumbled in response, his breathing evening out.

"I'm glad, you know… that you two aren't bickering anymore… He did help me stay grounded when you were gone and I didn't know whether you'd be back..." Tony trailed off.

"I told you I would be back, my silva..."

“I know, I know, I just… I missed you. I was… scared,” Tony sighed a bit, nestling in closer to the dragon for a moment. “I don’t want to lose you, Stephen. Not ever.”

“I am always with you. I am in your dreams, and my heart is at your beck and call.” The words sounded more like an exhalation than anything, but the warmth of the dragon’s heart at his chest told him how much more what Stephen said meant.

“Sleep, Tony. Let us rest. There is much more to do in the next couple of days… and if we plan to deal with Dormammu’s threat… we will need all of our energy. There is much to discuss regarding how we intend to deal with that, and many plans to sort out. But for now… I must recuperate, and so must you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony sighed softly, brushing his hands over the large ears of his companion. “Goodnight, Stephen. Get lots of rest.”

“I love you,” the dragon murmured lowly, settling in with his summoner and taking a deep breath, seeming to exhale and fall asleep rather swiftly.

“I love you, too,” Tony responded gently, closing his eyes and making himself more comfortable against the dragon.

* * *

The following morning after a rejuvenating night of rest, Tony woke up to Stephen already in the kitchen preparing something to eat. It was just about five-passed-eight and the drake was on his toes in his mixed humanoid form prepping the morning's meal.

"Ah, good summoner, you're awake! I was about to go in and fetch you." Tony rubbed the sleep from his eyes and let out a yawn.

"You know one of these mornings I'd like to wake up next to you ." Tony murmured with a soft half-hearted cadence.

Stephen shook his head. "I am just looking after you, and in turn looking after both of us."

"Can't you look after me  _ in bed? _ Tony whined a little pathetically though it didn't mean to come out the way it did, which earned him a grin from the dragon.

Stephen put the kettle down he was about to pour and plodded over to Tony's side, wrapping his arms and wings around Tony's shoulders and the engineer just face-planted into Stephen's plumage with a lazy groan.

"I need to make sure Loki is prepared and capable of passing on the cure. To stay behind when we leave and teach more on how to form the wild magic." Tony furrowed his brow, surfacing for air to look up at Stephen.

"You've been amicable around him lately..." Tony suggested softly.

"And, is that not what you've wished for, my silva?" Tony nodded.

"Yeah, it's nice. I'm glad you've gotten, dare I say, more comfortable around him."

"He is the least of my concerns for the time being." Stephen leaned over and pecked Tony on the forehead, letting go of him to go back to finishing breakfast. Tony shivered a little no longer having the warm barrier of the drake’s wings and embrace of his arms as he crawled back into his room to retrieve a baggy sweater.

“I still stand by wanting you to look after me in bed! I miss the cuddles!” Tony called as he pulled the sweater over his head, and by the time his head poked through the top, the dragon was standing in the doorway giving him a curious look.

“Is it cuddles you miss?” the dragon inquired playfully, watching him as his tail flicked back and forth, his ears fixed forward on him intently.

“I missed you, and cuddles, and many other things besides,” Tony huffed a bit, reaching to tug Stephen down for a brief kiss.

“I highly doubt we have time for cuddles, much less anything else.”

“And where is your head at?” Tony gave the dragon a mock suspicious look before yelping a little as the dragon lifted him up in a bridal carry to bring him over to the table for food.

“There are other things I also miss, but that I cannot consider indulging in until our more pressing concerns are dealt with.”

“Are you hitting on me?” Tony teased as Stephen sat himself down and rested Tony in his lap, looping his arms around the summoner’s waist and nestling his nose in against Tony’s neck.

“I am certain I have no idea what you are referring to…”

“Flirting. You’re flirting with me.”

“Of course I am,” Stephen chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss to Tony’s neck and giving the summoner a slight shiver before he gestured to the meal. “Please, eat. We have things to do.”

“Nonsexual things?”

“As I said before, we do not have time for such things. Besides, we are both supposed to be recovering, are we not?”

Tony sighed. Sitting on Stephen's lap was a little awkward at the table, given his legs barely fit under the lip of the table with their height and didn't touch the floor. Though thankfully the drake’s arms held him still in his lap and he got to work indulging in the meal Stephen had so graciously prepared for him.

Coffee as he liked it, food, it was a treat and he was spoiled rotten to be able to wake up to this, something he'd taken for granted before Stephen had gotten seriously injured and needed to retreat into the dream realm to recover.

Every bite of food was savoured, every sip of coffee down to the presentation and taste, and Tony took his time deliberately enjoying the savoury meal before turning to kiss Stephen on the cheek.

"That was perfect, I guess I'll go and get dressed, then we can head back to the hospital to meet up with Loki, or were we going to meet up with him somewhere else?" Tony wiped his hands on the paper towel before turning around to sling his arm around Stephen's neck and the dragon nosed into his neck.

"No, you are correct. We will be meeting him over at the Hospital ward, and after that, the faculty and TAs will be convening to talk about our approach to dealing with our current problem." Stephen's ears flicked a bit and he loosened his grip on Tony's waist to let the engineer down.

“You’re sure Loki hasn’t picked up how this works already?”

“You never tell someone how something like this works only once. People need to study and practice to learn, most often. Even if he has figured it out, it is best that we make certain,” Stephen smiled a little.

“What about dealing with Dormammu and the scourge? Wouldn’t… wouldn’t another dragon’s aid be useful?” Tony inquired after a long moment. “I was thinking about it last night… and…”

“Loki has never had a dragon to mentor him,” Stephen interrupted softly. “In many ways, Loki does not understand his powers as a dragon, nor how to use them. Without that knowledge, he is the most useful to everyone here, healing and aiding those afflicted by the scourge.”

“... can’t you teach him?”

Stephen gave Tony a long look at that. “There is not enough time for that. Dormammu is already feeling threatened by our actions in the Sanctums and temples… it is only a matter of time before he lashes out, and if we are unprepared, the results could be catastrophic to this realm. Could I teach him? Yes, most likely. I believe it may have played a part in why he had you summon a dragon, to begin with.”

Tony nodded his head slowly, the pieces slowly clicking together as anyone could have seen the literal cogs in his mind began to move.

It just made sense, as deceptive as it was, Loki had in some way used him to bring Stephen into the world. He understood Tony had enough power to do so, his skill had never gone unnoticed so, at the first chance he was able, he remembered the other drake gravitating towards him.

As it stood, Stephen no longer found Loki a threat, if anything the dragon Laufey's progeny was simply that, a whelpling in the eyes of Stephen. Young, boisterous and keen to explore, calculating and testing but not in any way frivolous and unattentive to the motions and intricacies of powerful magic.

Loki was hardly any threat to Stephen in the first place after they'd discovered their mutual feelings and Tony had been granted the dragon's heart. Even more so now that Loki's intentions were painted clear as day on a canvas that Stephen had come to interpret so clearly.

"Once Loki is confident in understanding the magic and its manipulation he can confidently pass on the technique to those qualified. And I trust him of all since he is more directly attuned to it than any human. Though young, I want to make sure that the information sticks with him. We can make no errors with these remedies, and he is eager to learn." Tony nodded, having slipped on his clothes and grabbed his bag, preparing to leave as Stephen continued to explain the situation.

"After this has all blown over, I will be happy to help him learn of his origins, and unlock his power. But right now he is of best use to us here, though a powerful ally indeed."

Taking the time on their way to the hospital, Tony gave a soft sigh as he considered their situation. “Do you figure we’re going to march in there with an army of people to deal with this or-”

“I highly doubt that would be effective in any capacity. The more people there are, the more people are around to be turned on us. Dormammu has… many varied skills…” Stephen sounded thoughtful, and for a moment Tony chuckled.

“For a second there I forgot you two were an item…” his expression became more serious after that. “Are… you going to be okay dealing with him? If… it comes down to having to deal with him uh... permanently... are you going to be okay with that?”

Stephen fell quiet for a long time, and Tony began to worry he’d said something wrong. As the silence stretched on, Tony began to open his mouth only for Stephen to beat him to it. “I will do what I must. Regardless of what we had, Dormammu is not the being that won my heart. That was you. For your safety and your well-being, I will do what I have to.”

“That’s… I’m sorry, Stephen…” Tony sighed a little, reaching out to hold the dragon’s hand and receiving a soft squeeze in response. “I hope it won’t come to that.”

“Yet it very well may.”

The two passed over the cobbled stone in silence. Time was of the essence but Tony always opted for walking rather than portalling. It was the little things he had grown an appreciation for as of late.

The warm glow of their hands nestled together, the brisk wind of the peaks. Everything felt so turbulent, he felt an odd unsettling feeling knowing that an armageddon of a sort could come from all this and he was scared in many ways.

He didn't know if those feelings were his own, or simply Stephen projecting his own emotions on him. Or, even both of their feelings, but Stephen once again squeezed his hand and he returned it, finding his smile as they enjoyed the few minutes of peaceful silence on their walk.

Tony pushed open the hospital doors, Stephen finally hiding his wings and his unnatural humanoid appearance under a full human guise as to not upset anyone. As freely as he walked around, there were still considerations about how other patients would interpret a dragon and that was something he didn't want to necessarily bring to point in a place of recovery.

Loki was in Bruce's room with Thor, and they all turned as Stephen and Tony walked in, hand-in-hand, their faces lighting up.

"Bruce, how are you feeling?" Tony spoke up and his old roommate hopped off the hospital bed and came to hug him.

"I’m great, the doctors are going to discharge me today after one more examination. Thanks to Stephen and Loki I've had a full recovery. Carol's also already up and about and Coulson as well!" he stepped back.

"I really owe you one Stephen," Bruce turned to the drake with a wide smile.

“You owe me nothing at all,” Stephen smiled gently in response, “I believe in the preservation of life. It is only circumstance that has allowed me to do that in this case. It is safe to say that Loki did the majority of the work here…”

“ _ Loki _ didn’t create the spell,” the dragon in question sighed. “I just held it. I have no idea what went into that, and I have to admit it’s kind of been annoying me.”

“Well, I did talk you through it before,” Stephen sighed slightly as he looked to the raven-haired man.

“Not exactly the same, I think we both know it. But that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Loki gave the pair a curious look. “I’ll be considerably more useful if I know how to deal with this ailment and create the spell myself.”

"That is exactly why I am here," Stephen nodded. "I do not think I will feel satisfied until I make sure that you are completely confident in your ability not only to do the procedure but to also instruct others on how to do it in my absence," Stephen glanced back at Loki earnestly, and the other dragon seemed to relax a little with that.

Tony stood back and smirked. 

He could tell Loki that Stephen was planning on mentoring him full time eventually, see the drake’s eyes light up, but he was also pretty sure Stephen wanted to keep that a secret as so Loki wouldn't get too complacent with his standing in the elder drake’s eyes.

"So, you guys are planning on going in and fighting that thing? If I'm correct," Bruce spoke up.

"And I will accompany you as well, that beast will pay for what it's done to everyone," Thor clenched his fist and Stephen's ears twitched and he slowly nodded.

"Hey, one thing at a time big guy," Tony spoke up, stepping forward and holding a hand out. "We still need to strategize, actually plan this out because whatever we dealt with back in Watoomb, I can only imagine will be a hundred times worse coming from the source. We need help and we need to be prepared.”

“We should also speak with the faculty on the matter,” Stephen stated softly. “For all the faith I have in each of you, you are all yet students - students ought not be sitting around planning on going to war. Not without supervision. Not without speaking with those with more wisdom and experience in these matters.”

“I thought that was you, old man?” Loki chuckled slyly, and Stephen simply raised an eyebrow at him.

“Dormammu is older than me by lifetimes. I would speak to any with insight to offer on this matter before I made any attempts at trying to edge him out of these lands. There are things I know, and things that I do not. We minimize the potential for casualties by being as fully prepared as possible.”

"Given the nature of the school's history there should be someone here that has something on the old dragon, I know you probably have the most insight here Stephen but perhaps there were ways to deal with him in the past when he was a legitimate threat to the realm. If he had anything to do with contributing to why dragons are banned, there must be some documented records on him here in the school, or possibly the temple," Tony mused out loud before he turned to Loki.

"You don't think your mother would know anything, or be able to point us in the direction of that?" Tony directed to Loki.

"I mean she may. There’s nothing she's told me but there could be some books or some information in the faculty's library surrounding his nature," Loki responded softly. "Perhaps later, one thing at a time. Stephen," the raven-haired hooligan quirked a brow and the dream drake nodded.

"Very well, I will need to show Loki the process practically on others afflicted, the only way to properly show him and have him attuned to the magic," Stephen nodded and the two of them left the room to find Fury and one of the nurses to ask where they could provide help.

“I… guess I’ll sit here with you guys, then?” Tony chuckled a little as he watched the pair disappear.

“That is absolutely bizarre to watch,” Bruce stared at the doorway as he reclined on the bed again, shaking his head. “Aren’t you worried they’re going to hurt each other after everything?”

“Not really,” Tony laughed as he took up a seat beside Bruce, opposite Thor.

“There’s no reason to be,” Thor responded with a shrug. “Loki won’t hurt Stephen - couldn’t really hurt him even if he wanted to, I imagine. Stephen is considerably more powerful than Loki. For all of Loki’s raw talent and expertise, Stephen is innately skilled in far too many subjects, and far too old to consider Loki any kind of physical threat. They both know it, I’m fairly certain.”

“I wasn’t worried about Loki hurting Stephen…” Bruce sighed but gave a little shrug of his own. “But if you two think they’re okay together, then…”

"Oh, you know Stephen. He's all bark and no bite if our first meeting has anything to do with how you guys could perceive him. He trashed my first apartment, and Bruce can attest to that but never has he ever laid a finger on anyone other than one of Dormammu’s nightmares," Tony grinned.

"Well if you're sure about that..." Bruce raised an eyebrow and the nurse came in to do his final assessment. Tony stepped aside to let her through and both he and Thor migrated to the least obstructive area of the room.

"I think in some way he’s thankful to Loki..." Thor started, looking down at Tony who he so clearly towered over. "Without him, the two of you would have probably never crossed paths." 

The nurse milled around, taking Bruce's blood pressure, blood, and handed him a small cup.

"I'm going to need you to-" the nurse started and Bruce cut her off taking the small white-capped cylindrical cup.

"-Yeah, I got this," he nodded a little embarrassed and slunk off to the washroom. It took him a minute before he was back with the sample, handing it to her and she did a few more examinations before she folded her clipboard and smiled.

Tony and Thor had gone quiet as she made her assessment, not wanting to talk over her.

"Well, it looks like everything is all good. You're free to check out of the medical ward Mr. Banner," she smiled. "Frankly, it's a miracle, and I'm glad you made a full recovery, one of our first," she flashed the two other men a small smile as she handed Bruce the clipboard to sign and left the ward. "Just be sure to check out at the front desk for our records Mr. Banner."

"Yeah, I will, and thank you," Bruce nodded and Tony grinned as his best friend launched himself into Thor's arms in jubilation at being completely deemed cured of the scourge.

"Gross, get a room you two," he stated jokingly.

"This is my room, Tony," Bruce teased and Thor lifted the smaller man in a crushing hug.

“Not anymore it isn’t! You’ve been announced free to go! Where do you want to go first? How do you feel about pizza? We should celebrate!” Tony grinned widely, and Bruce laughed softly at that, nodding.

“Pizza sounds amazing. What do you think, Thor?”

“Anything you like,” the tall blonde man smiled widely. As they exited into the hallway, Tony paused briefly as he spotted a rather worn-down looking Steve Rogers.

“You two go on ahead, I’ll catch up,” he informed them, and Bruce gave a little shrug and allowed Thor to continue to escort him to the front desk, leaving Tony to make his way over to his old acquaintance. “Steve…? You okay?”

Blue eyes looked up at him, the darkness beneath them showing how little the man had slept, but Steve offered a smile so vague that Tony wondered whether he simply lacked the energy for a full smile, or if there was more to it. “Tony… sorry, did you say something?”

“You don’t look so good, champ. What’s wrong?”

“Ah… Sam has… the scourge…” Steve sighed heavily, looking at the door to the room he stood outside of. “A lot of people seem to be getting sick suddenly…”

“Stephen will take care of it,” Tony assured him with a small smile, though Steve gave him a confused look at that. “They just let Bruce go… they seem to think he’s fully recovered, and he’s been sick for a while. I’m sure they’ll sort out your friend.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time a Stark has promised me that. Why should I believe that your summon will do any better for Sam than Howard did for Peggy?” Steve asked, and while Tony could detect the bite in the words, the man seemed far too exhausted for Tony to really take it to heart.

“Because I have proof that this will work. Not just numbers and charts, like my dad. Bruce is tangible proof that this will work. Stephen’s already working with Professor Fury and others to make sure things improve. In the meantime… have you gotten any sleep at all?”

Steve was quiet for a long moment before he sunk into his chair and held his head. “... I can’t sleep. I keep having… visions of this… massive dragon…”

Tony took a seat next to him, holding off from making any sort of physical consolation for it.

"Join the club then, I mean, before Stephen came around that's all I was dealing with. Nightmares about some massive creature living under Centralia. All of this, the scourge… we know it all ties into the nightmares and the whole plan here… we're going in to exterminate or deal with it the best way possible." Tony folded his hands as he leaned over on his lap.

Steve seemed to shake his head, glancing over a bit confused. He almost seemed like he was trying to calculate everything. "Wait, so you know what's going on with all this, everything? I don't really understand." 

"Steve, I can tell you that whatever you're dealing with, you're not the only one, just like the recent outbreak with the scourge. I think we're all experiencing some sort of cross-realm upheaval right now, things are only going to get worse before they get better." Tony started, shaking his hands, glancing over at him.

"I'm not making you any promises, but I will to myself, and my friends. I won't feel comfortable until we put this all away. The nightmares, the scourge and save as many people as we can. And we have the recoveries to prove it."

Steve stayed quiet, mulling over the words. He gave Tony a brief nod before the engineer stood up and headed for the door to meet up with Thor and Bruce for pizza.

“Tony?” he called, and the summoner glanced back over his shoulder. “If… I can help at all… please let me know. I may not have a dragon who can heal people with the scourge or whatever but… if this upheaval thing is a problem… if there’s anything I can do-”

“I’ll let you know, Steve,” Tony offered a small smile of his own. “Get some rest, will you?” He gave a wave as he made his way out of the hospital ward intent on meeting up with Thor and Bruce as promised. He was hungry, despite the cooking Stephen had done earlier, and pizza really sounded like it would hit the spot.

“There you are,” Bruce smiled warmly, “I was starting to think maybe you’d gotten into a fight, too…”

“What do you mean ‘too’ who got in a fight?” Tony inquired as he glanced between Bruce and Thor, neither of whom looked dishevelled.

“No one? Not that I know of, I just meant… you know, regarding earlier with… Stephen and Loki? Uh… never mind,” Bruce shook his head sheepishly. “Do you think we can stop by my place so I can have a shower before we make any grand appearances anywhere? I feel kinda gross after my stay…”

“Sure. I’ll tell you what, I’ll pick up some pizza and meet you there?” Tony suggested with a smile of his own, looking to Thor, “I’m sure I can trust you to get him there safely?”

“Of course,” Thor grinned brightly.

“I’m… I’m not an invalid, you know!”

“We know. That’s why you’re getting pizza and the best cuddles of your life, right big guy?”

Thor simply grinned brighter in response, giving Bruce a little squeeze. “Only if that’s what he wants.”

“I just want a shower for now,” Bruce chuckled weakly, though he rested his head against Thor’s shoulder. “And then pizza. We can talk about snuggling up together afterwards.”

The pizza errand didn't take long in Tony's mind. It did take about half-an-hour to walk to the shop and place his order, sitting down at one of the wobbling tables as he leaned on the surface and thought about Stephen - and then Loki, and a small smile crept onto his features as he continued to ponder about how the two were finally getting along

Having all of his friends get along was near perfect for him, and it was thinking over those little things in life that brought him joy. 

He gently fingered the dragon's heart around his neck and it vibrated in response, heating up and pulsing a few times as if it was responding to him.

He didn't know how long Stephen and Loki would be, but he wasn't holding out for them. He'd save them something to eat despite understanding that neither of them found it necessary - or did they? He wasn't so sure about Loki's situation, about how the drake maintained himself without a summoner since dragons were not strictly of this realm entirely.

He nearly missed the man calling over the counter for him to grab his order, snapping out of his thoughts. By the time he returned he was still the only one there. And unlike before, despite the apartment being empty, _ it no longer felt that way _ as he waited patiently for either party to show up.

There was a knock at the door and as predicted, Thor and Bruce were the first to show up. Bruce looked nearly one-hundred-percent better dressed in new, fresh clothing and out of the hospital gown, and it made a difference.

"Right on time," Tony chirped and stepped aside for them.

"You were timing us?" Bruce chuckled and Thor came in with a bottle of wine and a six-pack of a local lager.

"Shall we wait for Stephen and Loki?" Thor questioned as he set the beers and wine down on the table.

"I don't exactly know how long they will be but I got them an extra pizza anyways..." Tony took a seat and grabbed some plates. "Hey Thor, I've been meaning to ask… but how does your brother maintain himself? I know Stephen relies on my energy to sustain himself but what's Loki's deal?"

“Loki eats,” Thor stated quietly and looked thoughtful, “he is half-human, after all.”

“... huh? Half-human?” Bruce gave them a look of confusion. “What? Why would Loki rely on… are you implying…?”

“Oh, you… don’t know…”

“He’s going to figure it out now,” Thor sighed a little bit and tilted his head at Bruce. “Loki is half ice dragon. Despite what everyone thinks he’s… my older brother, not my younger brother. His draconic heritage simply means he ages more slowly than I do. I don’t even know whether my brother could be summoned the way that Stephen or the others can as he was born on this plane of existence and there is no requirement for him to bond with another to be on this plane,” Thor hummed thoughtfully. “I expect those questions would be better asked of someone better learned in this kind of situation than myself.”

“Or Stephen,” Bruce stated, looking thoughtful. “So… if Loki is half-human and half-dragon then…”

“It’s exactly what you think,” Thor nodded, and Bruce looked steadily more confused.

“I suppose… Stephen has appeared to be several different sizes… so I guess… that makes sense.”

“... Bruce Banner, were you just imagining a giant dragon dick?” Tony teased, and the man looked rather flustered at that.

“I-I was just wondering how something like that wouldn’t, you know, kill her? I guess? And then I remembered Stephen changes his size on a whim and…”

Tony only crossed his arms and grinned, pleased-as-pie as he witnessed the many different emotions that played across poor Bruce's face.

"Bruce! Are you thinking of my brother in that way?" Thor was taken aback by that which elicited a hearty chuckle out of Tony.

"W-what?! No! Thor, I just… I was, it just doesn't make any sense to me!" Bruce started to stutter, getting nervous and trying to reach for Thor’s in an attempt to calm the big blond. "I just meant that-"

"Oh, we know what you meant," Tony started. "Careful there Brucey, or poor Thor over here might start to feel a little inadequate..." Thor turned red and crossed his arms and Bruce looked to Tony who only seemed to be making matters worse.

"Well, Tony, have you slept with him yet? Obviously you have, knowing you," Bruce started.

"Oh I have, and I have the luxury of picking out how big I want him to be, it's kind of like trying something new, Stephen can be anything that I want him to be!" Tony continued and Bruce regretted continuing the conversation, let alone starting it off in the first place. The poor man's face was scarlet with embarrassment. He wanted to just find something to cover his face with.

A gentle pat from Thor and a shake of the blond's head finally quieted Bruce down and he could simply sigh.

"Don't bite off more than you can chew Brucey," Tony laughed and at that moment the two drakes had returned and Loki was the first to pipe up about the conversation.

"Stark, do share with the class what we missed that you are in tears-"

The brunette immediately shut up, far less confident about the subject now that Stephen had returned. He slunk over to the dragon and wrapped his arms around Stephen's neck and Stephen was pleased to see him but confused.

"It's no big deal, don't worry about it!" Stephen flicked his ears and tilted his head.

"Worry about what, my silva?" And Tony looked away as Stephen wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Seriously, it's nothing!"

"Well it's obviously  _ not _ nothing, now it's something that you're making a big deal about  _ nothing, _ " Loki chimed in.

“Look, it’s not like I care about that kind of stuff! I just don’t want anyone getting hurt, and Tony, you, in particular, do have a tendency of taking on far more than you should,” Bruce huffed a bit, tucking his face against Thor’s shoulder as the taller man chuckled.

“Are you attempting to overwork yourself, silva?” Stephen inquired as he rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder.

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s not a big deal.”

Loki tilted his head at the group of them, raising an eyebrow for a moment before rolling his eyes and making his way to the pizza to help himself, flopping on the couch. “Are we celebrating Bruce’s liberation from the hospital? Drinking and pizza?”

“Sounds excellent,” Tony chimed, grasping the distraction quickly and slipping out of Stephen’s hold to acquire a couple of drinks. Stephen gave a small huff at that.

“Do not drink too much. We have a busy day tomorrow. We will be meeting up with a few people prior to heading out, talking over the plan of action and the like… you will need your senses about you for that.”

“Understood. In the meantime, we’re just gonna relax a little, Stephen. Nothing to worry about,” Tony grinned as he offered a drink to Loki, and patted the couch beside him as he slumped down, waiting for Stephen to join him.

“Very well. Just… please moderate yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	16. Chapter 16

Days of preparation had led up that moment when the trek to Centralia was finally upon them.

Today of all days was beautiful. 

The wild whipping gales of the peaks had lessened and the sun was able to punch through the overcast stormy sky. It was warmer than usual thanks to that and despite the road ahead, everyone seemed to be in much brighter spirits.

Over the past few days, there had been an extensive and very successful turnaround at the hospital. Everyone had been treated and Loki had made monumental progress with Stephen, learning quickly, asking questions and demonstrating near-perfect executions for the spell he'd used to treat the scourge.

All afflicted had made very swift recoveries or were on the road to an expedient one. Coming up with a cure for the scourge was one thing, but Stephen had opted to move forward and teach Loki to prepare a protective warding spell for those who weren’t already protected.

With Fury, Selvig, Coulson and Danvers pledged to assist with the expedition, that left Loki to stay behind and teach the complicated warding spell to doctors and medical staff who were capable.

"Are you sure you are ready for this, my silva? We must all be both mentally and physically processed for what is ahead of us today," Stephen crooned softly.

"Yeah, I think I'm as ready as I'll honestly ever be considering what we're going to be facing. I know what lies ahead, yet at the same time, I don't know if anyone could fully be prepared for where we're going." 

It was unsettling, what Tony was doing today was going in to face his worst fears, to see the stuff of nightmares. His chest tightened with anxiety, a deep sinking feeling whenever he thought of it. 

Before, a morbid curiosity always played at the edge of his mind he was willing to indulge as he thought more. Today it was actually happening, and it clawed at him and stoked the embers of fear that burned hot in his mind.

Centralia, the place that had riddled his nightmare-ridden slumber. He could only predict what he saw in his mind was going to be like what he'd see today when they arrived.

"You are very close to this place and this problem. I will be there with you the entire time..." Stephen nudged Tony's shoulder with his muzzle.

Tony bundled up his coat, nodding and wrapping an arm around Stephen's neck in a half hug. The cloak came to settle onto his shoulders and he nodded and headed out towards the door.

"Let's do this, I'm tired of hiding and hoping. It's time we take action and end this once and for all," Tony nodded, determined as Stephen followed him out to meet Thor and Bruce who were awaiting them.

"You guys ready to go?" Bruce had a cup of coffee and Thor was tending to Fenrir.

"Yeah. Selvig said Fury, Coulson and Danvers are already at the office waiting to go over the plan."

“Is this everyone who’s going, then?” Bruce inquired, looking around them. “Selvig, Fury, Coulson, Danvers and the five of us? Will that be enough?”

“Who else would we bring?” Thor asked as he glanced at Bruce, giving Fenrir a gentle pat.

“... I was just thinking that an extra dragon might be useful,” Bruce sighed a bit, before rubbing at his head. “But I suppose Loki’s busy saving lives. Damnit… alright. Well, let’s get to it then…”

Bruce opened the portal to Selvig’s office and the group gathered there, entering into a strangely silent space where a couple of people paced quietly but no one spoke. Tony ran his fingers anxiously into Stephen’s feathers and the dragon curled his tail around Tony soothingly.

“What’s all the fuss about?” Tony finally broke the silence, his voice louder than the shuffling of feet, and Selvig and Fury both looked at him, Selvig’s expression contemplative, and Fury’s pinning him in place.

“Are you certain you’re ready for this?” Fury asked, not beating around the bush as he watched the man. “The costs of this mission could be very high, are you certain you’re prepared for them?”

“What?” Tony looked around the room at those gathered there, startled by a knock at the door. Carol made her way over and soon enough Steve had joined them as well, leaving Fury to frown slightly and look at Selvig.

“This is a lot of students to bring on a mission like this,” Selvig stated lowly, shaking his head and looking a little more stressed out than before.

“We’re trained fighters,” Thor piped up, his hand coming to rest on Steve’s shoulder before the smaller blonde man reached out to Tony.

“I want to help. A lot of people want to end this but… I want to do my part, too.”

“You’re not just here in case I fuck up?” Tony inquired, tilting his head a little, and Steve offered an apologetic smile.

“If anyone’s going to fuck up it’ll be me. You’ve done a lot already. I want to help.”

“Students or not, they’re all magi. If we haven’t taught them well enough for them to do this, then we’ve already failed them as instructors,” Fury responded to Selvig finally. “If they want to come… let them come.”

“I don’t like it, Nick,” Selvig huffed quietly, “this isn’t how we were told it would go.”

“It will all work out as it is meant to,” Stephen piped up, and the professors glanced over at the dragon in the room. “Sitting around second-guessing ourselves is not going to improve the situation. We need to get this done. He will not remain idle for long.

"And now that we have all been safeguarded against the scourge, that warding that stabilized the illness will no doubt protect the lot of you when we step foot in Centralia, though I can promise little more." Stephen looked around the room, all eyes were on him and each gave a nod.

"If everyone is ready, then let us finish what we set out to do. Steel yourselves and expect any possible obstacle once we are there. Dormammu's corruption runs deep within the forest and his greatest weapon against you is your very own fears. Do your best not to get separated, he will try to pick us off, scatter us, and he will not have much trouble doing it on his playing field either." Stephen's ears twitched, and when there was one-more unified nod Fury stepped forward. 

"Only the horrors await us on the other side, based on what we’ve been told and what has been observed of Centralia.

"You know the way Stephen, so if you would please do us the honours, we're going to raise hell on this tyrant, or die trying," Nick crossed his arms, and Goose leapt up onto his shoulder.

"Uhh hopefully not die, that would be nice," Bruce piped up sheepishly.

"Very well." The dragon turned around and faced the wall, he made a series of gestures before he opened up a portal that sparked to life, spinning and breaching the distance to the shattered forest.

A red haze obscured the other side, and the portal sparked and cracked abnormally as if it was trying to shut itself. The portal radiated an uncomfortable aura, seeping out of the shattered forest itself as the unstable edges rocked and jittered inconsistently.

"Quickly, go through," Stephen grunted. "There is a lot of wild magic which fights against my spells. The area itself is unstable which is why we must take care of this problem as soon as possible and not linger." Stephen waited for Tony to follow through and when the professors and students had crossed, he stepped through himself.

The portal collapsed behind him immediately and his ears flattened as they were deposited in a forested area next to an old vine-tangled cobbled path.

"Is this it?" Thor looked around, "really took the shattered out of the  _ shattered forest _ ..." he added with a snort.

"We are miles from the epicentre," Stephen responded. "Any closer and I would not have been able to hold the gate open. He knows we are here, he knew as soon as I opened the path so be on your guard. The closer we walk to the center, the more apparitions, horrors and beasts you will see. Specifically, I know not what." 

"I think we've already got a company." 

Tony nodded towards some of the trees, where beady specs of red blinked and observed them. The forest itself was beautiful, much akin to a harvest season ambiance with the bright crimson leaves and the dark bark of the trees. But there was clearly something underlying that peace, whether it was the twisted trees themselves or the shifting of the land in the distance.

Eyes moved in red strobes, floated, and some of the trees even looked like they were moving - it took a few moments to realize that they were. Walking, shifting further out with the beady red eyes and they stopped to look at the group, observing them but not approaching.

"Lost," Stephen nudged Tony forwards and the group began to migrate up the path. "Stray not from the path, they will let us be, for now. Anything that dies from scourge becomes one with this hellish scape, and the fact we have since cut Dormammu off from his source now with a cure means he is going to be much more ornery," Stephen explained.

Not a soul in the group spoke, they all seemed to be disturbed by the energy of the land. It had a way of seeping into one's very bones, and to Tony, it felt like his dream was real as aspects of the land and the overall dread and horror and even the sorrow it radiated was nothing foreign to what he experienced within his recurring nightmares.

Stephen led the quiet group through the landscape along a strangely clear path and the shadowy creatures around them followed alongside the path in an unnerving swarm. The only sound that split the air was the sound of their feet on the ground - the wind didn’t even rustle the trees. It was hard to say if there was wind at all.

As each of the summoners in the group grew more uneasy, their numbers seemed bolstered - Thor’s great wolf Fenrir walking alongside them to the right, Bruce’s ogre summon Hulk took up the other side, with Maria, Goose and Stephen taking the lead. Above them Fury’s hawk Clint kept an eye on their path, and behind them stalked Carol’s fearsome-looking griffon, Vers. The humans were entirely surrounded by a protective circle of summons who not only seemed alert, but particularly wary.

“Clint has indicated that he’s spotted the shattered forest in the distance. There is some sort of thick mist around it,” Stephen informed Tony, though it looked like each of the summons were warning their summoners and Tony could hear the quiet murmurs of the message being passed along to those without summons. “Stay close to me and to the others. Hold my tail if you like. It does no one any good to become lost.”

Tony kept his eyes on the road, trying desperately to ignore the hordes of lost at the outcropping who continued to steer clear of the cobbled path despite their vested interest.

"Why do they follow?" Tony asked, looking to either side as the entity of dark spindly figures continued to move with them.

"Just as I drew attention in the streets of Dalaar, we are outsiders and they are more than just curious about our presence here. They sense the magic and life but they are just as afraid of us as we are of them. Still, not a theory I am willing to test," Stephen muttered as he did his best not to pay the shadows to either side of them any mind.

"Hold up," Carol stated and the group paused. They turned to see Selvig on his knees, sweating.

"Pardon me but I'm having a little bit of trouble walking, I seem to have been hit with a wave of vertigo suddenly," he heaved. "Just let me… catch my breath."

The procession came to a full stop, and while the summons didn’t move from their protective circle around the others, Fury made his way over to look the man over carefully. “Selvig, is this going to be too much for you?”

“No, no, this is important. I wouldn’t miss this kind of scientific expedition for the world,” Selvig wheezed out, leaning against Fury for a moment when the man offered his arm.

“This isn’t exclusively a scientific expedition. This is likely to come to battle,” Fury insisted, reaching down for a moment and pausing. Tony saw it clearly enough then, and felt the way Thor tensed beside him.

Selvig’s hands were blackened. Not just his fingertips, but most of the way over the back of his hand, and spreading quickly enough to be visually apparent. Tony quickly glanced at his own hands and saw nothing, though when he looked up again he noticed others doing the same.

“I’m going to open a portal home for you,” Fury stated suddenly.

“What? No, I just need a moment to-”

“Look at your hands,” the Conjuration professor interrupted sharply, and Selvig paused and glanced at the appendages, his face blanching.

“... I see.”

“I’ll set up all the tools as usual,” Tony promised quietly, “I’ll make sure you get your data. You’re not the only one interested in that,” he added with a weak smile.

“... yes, yes of course. I suppose I should leave new discoveries to the youths of today,” he sighed a little bit, clearly dismayed by the change of plans even as Fury opened a portal back to Dalaar.

“Speak to Palmer when you return. Promptly,” Fury instructed, and the man gave a slight nod at that and Steve frowned slightly before summoning his own rather large bear summon to cover the rear.

"Anyone else having trouble?" Fury called out, looking to everyone else. "Something tells me after a certain point, going home will no longer be an option." 

Not a soul spoke up as Fury conjured an unstable looking portal back to Dalaar which even he struggled to hold open. The breach snapped shut soon enough and Selvig was dismissed from their expedition.

"We might actually find more use for him in Dalaar. After all, we need someone to process this information," Tony spoke up and he felt a tug on the back of his robes form Stephen.

"We need to keep moving," he instructed, nodding his head towards the path. 

They continued on, walking until a clearing. They breached the forest which opened up into a vast desolate landscape of crystal trees and shattered buildings. In the center of it all was a great tree, violet blues and magentas glowing with drifting particles and segments of broken land, unhinged and held aloft in a seemingly gravity-void cradle.

The energy radiating out of the land was much more intense here, so much so that when they stepped foot into ground zero, the lost refused to leave the shelter of the trees.

The sense of vertigo hit again, and Tony felt it this time. Although not suffering nearly to the degree Selvig did, it was like a building pressure in his body which vibrated at a frequency his human body wasn't used to.

"Do you guys feel that?" Bruce muttered the first to speak up about the state of the land.

"It's only going to get worse," Fury responded.

It took a few moments for everyone to gather themselves, but Tony’s hand wrapped into Stephen’s feathers for reassurance. He was familiar with the feeling that lingered after the vertigo began to ease a bit. It was the dizziness of his nightmare. A strange, radiating feeling that felt as though it pierced the depths of his soul.

“... what is…?”

“The Dread Dormammu,” Stephen stated without listening to the rest of his inquiry.

“What do we need to know about this… Dormammu…?” Fury asked as he looked to the dragon leading the way sharply.

“He is angry. Furious. Lost. He has been corrupted by the anger and devastation that came when his summoner was murdered and her dragon’s heart stolen,” Stephen responded clearly.

“... his summoner?” Thor asked as he glanced over at the dragon as well.

“A woman from long enough ago that your texts seem to refer to her as little other than ‘the Ancient One’ - though I would very much dispute the concept of a human woman being ancient in any way…”

"She lived as long as her shared life with her mate would allow her, before her tragic death." 

Steve looked around nervously as a different type of shadow began to creep ahead of them.

The lost in this part of the forest seemed to run away from them rather than follow, and faint echoes and shrill cries could be heard off in the distance towards the giant tree as they continued to blaze their trail down the desolate road.

"And now these creatures are running away from us?" Fury stated and Goose responded with a low growl.

"They're either afraid of us or afraid of Goose. Remember in Watoomb when they didn't stand a chance? Nightmare against nightmare?" Tony mumbled, but at the same time wondered if they weren't, in fact, running away, but rather leading the group to their destination.

That was how it happened in the dream after all - in  _ all _ the dreams.

He was beckoned to follow, and follow he always did, without control. It was like there was some sort of magnetism pulling him there and even now as he thought about it his body almost seemed as if it was out of his control as if he was in a trance.

Stephen’s tail wrapped around him as though he knew how Tony was feeling, and the summoner vaguely noticed the way the others around him were drawn in closer to their summons as though the creatures were concerned or suspicious. Even the hawk came in a little closer to fly nearer to the group, keeping a sharp eye out as Maria took to the air to join him.

“Stephen…?” Tony began, and the dragon’s tail curled a little tighter around him.

“I know. I feel it as well,” Stephen responded. “There is much more to all of this than meets the eye.”

As they wandered through the forest, Tony spotted things he hadn’t seen in his dreams - giant seashells that seemed as though they might be buildings, roadways and paths that suggested the city that might’ve hidden amidst the dense, crystallized forest. But the road they followed constantly, and inevitably led them towards that towering tree.

"Summoner." Tony finally snapped out of his trance-like state, finding himself at the base of the tree, surrounded by pale white glowing trees that looked like they were made of ice.

They stood at the mouth of the temple. He turned to address the group, all eyes on him as the shadows disappeared into the mouth of a dark corridor.

"This is it,” he looked at Stephen and then everyone else. "Last chance to turn back before we go into the belly of the beast." Each member of the group exchanged glances and Fury was the first to step forward as each of his familiars took to either side of him.

"There will be more than just horrors that lie beneath the earth, your own worst fears, so I suggest you make peace with the monsters under your beds, folks," Fury addressed everyone and Goose let out a low rumble.

“... as much as I’d like to stay and fight,” Carol started, lifting her own hands with a deep wince. “I thought since you were all feeling something odd that it was no big deal but…”

“I’m… afraid I’m not in a much better state…” Steve responded, pulling up his sleeve to reveal his forearms and the strange way his muscles seemed to atrophy where the black rot had begun to eat away at his muscles. “I’m not sure how much use I’m going to be…”

The pair of blondes looked at one another and then the remaining group. Bruce frowned and looked to the group. “I’ll get them home. Hulk will stay here with you and help you fight,” he stated, and the ogre gave a low grunt.

“I’ll leave Vers with you as well, it’ll be the best way I can continue to assist…” Carol stated sharply, sounding particularly annoyed as she stared at her hands. “This is pretty obnoxious. I’m sorry guys,” she sighed.

“Take care of all of this, alright Tony?” Steve stated lowly, and Tony clapped his bicep firmly.

“I will. Take care of yourself.”

“I’ll leave Peggy with you guys as well. This Dormammu guy needs to be dealt with… she’ll keep you safe.”

It was through the combined efforts of Bruce and Fury that the portal opened, though there wasn’t time for any last-minute well-wishing as they rushed through and the portal snapped shut like an elastic band.

"How are you two holding up?" Tony looked to Fury and Thor.

The large blond man had a look that could kill, eyes focused on the entrance of the tree while Fury was rubbing his neck a little.

"We're fine Tony, let's get in there and get out. I want to be back in time to be sipping on a nice hot cup of cocoa with all the chills I'm getting from this place."

"And I want to see justice brought to this monster for hurting Bruce," Thor spat and Tony nodded to Stephen as the drake lead them into the belly of the beast.

Peggy and Hulk stayed close, even without their masters they were still vigilant in making sure that the group they were charged with protecting was as guarded as they could be.

Maria went on ahead, casting light into the narrow hallways that seemed, if at all possible, darker than even pitch black.

Tony bit his lip. Things were hitting a little too close to home and it was the fact that he had his friends here with him, surrounded by a wall of mythical summons that he wasn't nearly as disturbed as in his dreams.

That, and he'd been here before multiple times.

Fury’s hawk came to rest on his shoulder as the summons closed in around them, entering the long corridor that was almost uncomfortably narrow with so many bodies moving down the hall. The humans fell into a line so that they were a loose procession three-wide. Tony took the lead, between familiarity and the fact that Stephen’s tail remained curled around him protectively.

As the corridor seemed to widen, the light that Maria cast stopped touching the walls, though beads of red light appeared in the distance and the summons reacted with various low growls and soft keens of warning.

“I dislike the look of those,” an unfamiliar voice piped up, and the glowing green eyes of Fenris looked over Tony’s head to one side.

“You are right to be uneasy,” Stephen responded, “they are not like the other Lost. There is something malicious about them…”

“Are they even Lost?” Tony inquired quietly, casting an uneasy look around of his own.

"No, they are not of this realm. I do not know what they are, there is not a shred of humanity left within them," Stephen growled, hackles raised, ears pinned as he lowered his head aggressively at the creatures.

His attempts to intimidate them did not at all phase them.

They began to slowly approach, their beady eyes all that could be seen in the swell of darkness. They moved slowly, but the way they moved and the way the red of their eyes strobed in the darkness was almost disorienting.

Thor seemed to stumble back a bit, holding his head as if in pain and Tony turned around to see something latched onto the blond man's ankle, a hand or a root-like thing as what they didn't see was the red and black pools bubbling up through the stone cracks in the ground.

"Watch your feet, they're everywhere," Fury drove his heel down on one of the creatures and it shrieked. 

Fenris immediately locked his jaws around the monster, crushing it in its head. The creature bled through Fenris' teeth and, dissolving onto the ground as Thor stumbled and gripped onto his summon to try and regain his footing.

“Tony,” Stephen called to him, adjusting for a moment before laying down.

“... really? Now?” the summoner inquired as he realized what was going on. Stephen wanted him to climb on his back. He knew it would be safer in ways, but he also knew that it put Stephen at the most risk between the two of them. Still, he didn’t protest much longer as he climbed on the dragon’s back, and as he looked back he found Thor had been similarly mounted atop his familiar.

“... Stephen, figure you can do the thing?”

“Which thing in particular?” the dragon inquired as the familiars slowly attempted to drive back the encroaching creatures.

“The bright light thing you always seem to do in my dreams,” Tony clarified, and Stephen hummed softly at that.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed, his voice loud enough to be heard by the others. A couple of the familiars shifted uneasily, but the humans complied swiftly enough.

Through his closed eyes, there was no denying the brightness of the light that flashed beyond his eyelids nor the hissing and screaming of creatures around them. Nothing that sounded human, but even then Tony’s eyes opened the moment that the light had begun to fade, his head swivelling around to check on the others. Everyone seemed alright, slowly opening their eyes and looking about in search of their former assailants.

“They will return soon enough. We should progress swiftly,” Stephen called back, not waiting long before heading forward quickly, his head down and wings pinned to his sides.

A cavalry of bestial footfalls echoed through the emptied chamber and whatever Stephen had done had either completely eradicated or temporarily disoriented their foes.

They tread the grounds, the darkness of the atmosphere near impenetrable. Stephen's fur, the brightest light in the cave as Tony's dancing, enigmatic ball of light follow steadily as a beacon for the group to follow.

Fenrir's fur bristled with a static as the animal growled and Maria's calls echoed loud and far through the narrowing tunnel.

Whatever trick had been cast had surely been dispelled as the darkness didn't seem so endless as they all came upon a hollow chamber at the end.

"I can feel him," Stephen started an unease to his tone, "up ahead..."

"Keep going," Fury called from behind and they all stopped in the stony entry arch as the darkness parted to a near-endless hollow chamber at the end.

In the center, a single stone pillar miles high connected by a bridge stretching from the deep darkness. Neither its base nor its precipice could be seen in the dark abyss. 

Down below, endless darkness of carved archaic stone masonry. Chambers and entrances, dilapidated and crippled by time with shadows of dark tentacles and creatures whipping about with growths on the walls blotting out the chambers old cyclopean design. 

And at the very heart of the chamber, piercing magenta and vermillion light emanating from a star-like object that shifted in states and moved. It wasn't solid, nor was it liquid but it gathered an extremely potent amount of magic that stopped even Maria in her tracks.

"The heart..." Stephen added in the silence, everyone silent as they stared on in awe. "Dormammu is near."

Tony knew it moments before he saw it. He knew what would happen. He’d had this dream enough times. His eyes were locked on a spot in the abyssal darkness even as two piercing eyes opened to stare at them, massive beyond measure. He heard a couple of gasps behind him and a quiet cussing, but it was all drowned out swiftly.

“You rush to your doom,” a deep voice spoke, the words feeling as though they rattled his bones and echoed all too loudly in his ears even as he watched the beast in the darkness. 

When he spoke, his mouth became visible, light emanating from within him as he stared down the company of summoners and summons. “How unwise. It spares me the time trying to hunt you down myself, I suppose.”

“Dormammu…” Stephen’s voice was low at first, but Tony felt the shifting underneath him as Stephen began to grow considerably in size, his wings spreading out and feathers flaring to make himself seem considerably larger than Tony was used to. 

“It has been a very long time, Stephen.”

“It has. I do not want to fight you if we can come to a peaceable solution.”

“There is no peaceable solution. You came for war.”

“We came for peace,” Stephen insisted. The eyes in the darkness narrowed.

“These creatures do not know the meaning of the word. They crave power above everything else.”

“And you?” the dragon beneath him rumbled, “what now do you crave? If you have such disdain for their desire for power, what drives you?”

“Vengeance.”

“And for that purpose, power?”

“Do not play word games with me,” Dormammu roared his annoyance. “Do not compare me to them.”

"You come to threaten their reality in the name of vengeance. You seek to tear down the walls of these worlds all in the name of a cause that has been lost to this era. Your grudge is not with them, nor will it be sated by senseless death and destruction." The hackles on the back of Stephen's neck pricked upwards and his feathers became rigid as he poised for confrontation.

"You don't know what it is to suffer, to have lost everything. Lost to power-hungry swine of the earth that seeks nothing more than to exert their own dominion over one another. Warmongering parasites, they all trip and climb over one another to rise to the top of a mountain with no summit, all in the name of the betterment of their own!" the deep rumbling voice grew more aggressive.

"I lost you," Stephen narrowed his eyes, "but I did not let that bitterness consume me like you let the death of your summoner destroy you from the inside out." Those deep red eyes widened, enraged and everyone felt it.

Anger so insurmountable Stephen knew Dormammu was about to strike before he opened his maw to hurl a massive surge of red energy towards them.

The feathered drake easily stepped aside from the incoming projectile, knowing full well it wasn't seriously meant to strike them but a display of unchecked impulsive emotion.

"You know nothing of loss!" he snarled indignantly and the shadow of the nightmare drake's smokey black wings fanned out down below as the sound of wing-beats echoed through the hollow cavern.

"You have been rotting in your own nightmares Dormammu," Stephen hissed back casting his own spellfire back at the drake. It made an impact with the way-too-large dragon, parting the dark mist below to expose the mottled, spiny beast.

“He’s… huge…” Thor muttered from somewhere behind him, and when he cast a glance back he found Peggy, Hulk and Fenrir pacing on the pathway behind them. Goose and Vers had taken to the air and Fury, mounted on Maria’s back, had joined he and Stephen.

“Clint, recon,” Fury instructed sharply, and the hawk disappeared into the shadows while Dormammu remained focused on them.

“You speak as though these nightmares are mine alone, and yet they are shared between us all, are they not? Is it not the nightmares that brought you to this realm to begin with,  _ Stephen _ ?” the massive dragon bellowed. “You do not have the knowledge or strength to defeat me here. You risk everything for nothing.”

“You tried to kill someone I love, I assure you I’ll do everything in my power to end you and it won’t be for nothing!” Thor roared in return, his voice not carrying nearly the same weight as the dragon’s though that didn’t lessen his sincerity.

“And you have tormented my lover for long enough as well. Vengeance will only beget more vengeance, Dormammu,” Stephen tried to reason. “We can stop this now without anyone else being hurt. We can end your nightmare-”

“You can do nothing!” Dormammu responded. “Nothing will bring her back!”

“Is… is this really what you think she would have wanted for you?” Tony spoke up finally, and Dormammu’s eyes settled on him with intense focus. “If she loved you, do you honestly think she would’ve wanted you to suffer like this, slowly corrupted by your anger and hatred? If she loved you, do you really think she would’ve wanted you to become the very beast humanity thought you were in the first place? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Tony’s hands curled into Stephen’s feathers, and the heart at his throat warmed up considerably. “I’m not going to live forever, but I hate the idea that when I die Stephen will become as you have. I hate the idea that he’s going to be alone, and the idea of him losing himself to despair… Is any part of you still the dragon that she loved?”

"You know nothing of my affairs." He roared in a sharp tone and began to climb the cavern walls, clawing up the pillar in the center. 

"This world is wrong, it is corrupt, and you are merely flies, pests, swarming to the corpse of a dying world." The ashen drake flapped his wings and rose upwards, finally exposing himself from the veil of darkness below.

More parasites of black tar began to bubble through the cracks and crevices within the chamber and as they rose Tony found himself struck with an overwhelming sense of fear - so much more potent than any dream. He stopped, catatonic in his spot to the point where he couldn't even feel his breathing.

All around them - Thor, Fury, and even their summons stood frozen like statues as the nightmare began to creep over them and paralyze them with an unparalleled fear. 

The growths climbing up their legs and beginning to siphon magic from them, leaving them helpless as their energy was leeched and waned away.

Tony couldn't move, he was fear-stricken, mind ensnared by the horrors playing inside his head.

"Tony," Stephen barked over his shoulder and the brunette gave no response. He looked around panicked at their group - only Goose showed any signs of being able to move as the creatures began to amass around them.

The feathered dragon gave a growl of concern at the group, watching and waiting for a moment more before his feathers began to glow again.

“You are not strong enough here, Stephen. You cannot hope to ward off the nightmares with your paltry skills,” Dormammu’s tone mocked the dragon, but a flash of light once again filled the room and burned away some of the entities, leaving Stephen’s feathers less vibrant than before and the entirety of the nightmare dragon illuminated.

A toothy smile greeted them at that. “Even that has weakened you immensely. I am not bound by the fetters of a weak summoner.”

“You are underestimating my summoner,” Stephen responded, “and you are underestimating me.”

_ ’A tree. To the left in the shadows. The dragon’s body blocks it, but it is receiving energy.’ _ The voice flooded Tony’s mind swiftly, and it took the summoner a few moments to collect his thoughts and sort it out. The voice was unfamiliar to him, and Stephen was clearly focused on Dormammu himself - it didn’t sound like him.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a streak of colour before noticing the small hawk in the distance.  _ ’This way.’ _

“... Stephen,” Tony prompted the dragon, “you need to put me down. I need to take care of the crystal…”

“The Lost will-”

“You take care of Dormammu. The others will deal with the Lost. We have our jobs, right?”

“... I mislike this, my silva…”

"Keep him distracted for me... I'll be fine!" Tony stayed low as he slipped off Stephen's back and slid down to his side.

Free from the plights of the nightmare's grasp he concentrated on cloaking himself, duplicating his image before he stepped back and gave one last look at the drake.

Stephen reared back and nodded, he took to the air and Tony's illusion ran back towards the group while he followed the voice's instructions and made his way towards the veiled tree. He could barely see the glow of the heart behind Dormammu's body, and as he got closer realized that there were tendrils of shadow tethering him to it like strings on a marionette.

Dormammu wasn't all here, it was simply an avatar of him, an illusion much like his own.

Stephen flew circles around him, harrying him to look one way while Tony ran the other. Fenrir made quick work of the rest of the creatures before he joined in to help. Thor stepped down and he took a running start, leaping into the air and diving onto the avatar.

He locked his jaws into the avatar's shoulder and the dragon hissed loudly, turning to swipe at the animal that was teeth deep in his flesh.

It would have been an amusing sight if it weren't so horrifying - Fenrir didn’t release the dragon and was flung in many directions as he held fast, with Maria, Vers and Goose attacking with varied bolts of lightning and some kind of energy Tony couldn’t see as it was blocked by Dormammu’s massive form. 

He watched the small form of something crawling over the dragon’s back to jam something between the dragon’s shoulderblades and a howl was let out before the figure was sent flying entirely, and Stephen swooped in to catch it, bringing it back towards the safety of a ledge and letting the limp form rest on the platform with Peggy standing over it, unable to reach the airborne dragon being entirely terrestrial as she was.

Hulk had launched himself from the platforms towards the dragon as well, managing to grasp on to a part of the dragon’s wing as he attempted to separate the wing from the dragon’s body. Dormammu shoulder-checked a wall, leaving the ogre partially crushed, weakly trying to get to his feet again as the dragon turned on the flying assailants.

As Tony descended and grew closer to the glowing heart of the tree, a bright light was cast across the chamber as a few bolts of lightning came raining down on Dormammu, striking the post that had been stuck into the dragon’s back and leaving the massive dragon to yowl in pain and finally fling Fenrir free from him.

Tony reached out to grab the heart but his hand was shocked by it causing him to recoil.

Dormammu turned immediately to Tony, aware of him now, and his red eyes went wide as the drake ignored everyone and everything else in the room and rampaged towards him.

His teeth were bared and he let out a shrill bellow, a clawed hand coming down on Tony only to make an impact with something else.

Stephen had jumped into the line of fire to take the brunt of the attack, and it cost him three jagged cuts across his silver collar, shattering and breaking through the thick metal and then piercing his skin.

The drake cried out in pain, crimson red spraying on the ground.

" **Stephen** !" Tony dropped to his knees to tend to the fallen drake and Dormammu gave no grace to either one of them as his tail came in to try and finish the job. 

Fenrir dove in and picked Tony up by the collar of his robes, taking him to safety, the heart still remaining in its place.

"Wait!  **Go back! ** Don't leave him!" The brunette commanded as the wolf set him down with the others.

The ashen drake continued to follow, thankfully, but Stephen didn't appear to be in good condition, especially with the beasts of the nightmare beginning to amass again and head towards the fallen drake.

“He’s not the one in the worst danger right now,” the wolf growled lowly at him turning and joining the remaining summons as they erected a magical protective barrier to separate the humans from the infuriated dragon.

It was hard for him to see Stephen from his new location as Fury was carefully looking over Thor, who it appeared had been the one sent flying earlier. The other student groaned in pain and as his bones healed and set, Tony could only wince as he sought out Stephen’s prone form.

Dormammu’s large paw slammed down against the shield and the summons buckled as claws drove in against the energy shield, attempting to pierce it. 

Tony’s eyes flitted between the claws and the slowly moving body where Stephen fell, desperately hoping the other got up even as he turned his attention back to the claw.

The massive dragon withdrew for a moment before slamming the ground beneath their feet rather than the energy field itself. The floor beneath them gave way, leaving everyone scrambling to safe ground and their shield to flicker down to Clint, Maria and Goose’s energies alone. Tony did his best to help Fury pull Thor to safety as Peggy and Hulk made their way from the fallen platform to them. They weren’t quite able to join in the creation of the shield in time for the dragon to come bearing down on them again.

At that moment, a large, bloody dragon’s form crashed into the bigger dragon, feeding an electrical current through the post still stuck in Dormammu’s back. The ashen drake reeled, crushing Stephen’s overgrown form against a wall and jerking around. 

Their wings interlocked, and the two were rendered unable to fly as they crashed downwards, with Dormammu’s maw closing in around Stephen’s throat.

“Stephen!” Tony cried out, starting to jerk forward but knowing there was little he could do from behind the safety of the shield.

“Believe in him,” Fury’s voice stated from behind him. “He needs your faith now more than anything.”

Stephen's maw went down over Dormammu's neck in return and he blew spell fire onto the ashen drake's scales. They were toe-to-toe now, grappling and flying into pillars and stone walls. 

Although Stephen was dwarfed by Dormammu's massive size, he still managed to put up a good fight against him.

Dormammu howled and bit down harder, picking Stephen up by his neck and driving him into a pillar of stone. The drake's colours flickered and he once again fell, energy starting to deplete as more parasitic growths latched onto him and began to siphon away his magic.

The nightmare drake turned again to the group, swatting at the various magical summons as they hurled themselves at him to stop his rampage. 

Fenrir was knocked to the side and Peggy came barreling in after, while the rest of them stayed put to keep the shield erected.

"Your fight is with me Dormammu." Stephen shook most of the growths off of him, burning them to dust as he lashed out again. 

The battle was taking its toll on him, his movements becoming more sluggish and clumsy as he persisted. He looked disoriented from the magic drain, so much that he failed to move out of the way from the bristled tail that slammed into his face and knocked him back again.

"I was going to let you watch your summoner perish, give you the same courtesy I was allowed but it will be just as effective if I kill you first." His claw came down and pinned Stephen's head as he opened his jaws hovering above his neck to deliver the killing blow.

" **No, stop** !" Tony tried to dash forward and hurled a large discharge of arcane energy. It struck Dormammu in the chest, burning a hole into his breastplates.

He growled, and Tony was backed into the barrier, his path blocked by nightmarish swells of Lost and amalgamations that cornered him in retaliation in numbers that dwarfed him.

"We need to do something," Tony turned to everyone who seemed to be doing there best to keep the shield active.

"We are doing everything we can!" Fury bit back.

He couldn’t believe it. They’d been working so hard. How could everything they’d worked towards have amounted to this? Was this really all they were capable of?

He threw his hands up in an attempt to bolster their shield, but his chest felt cold as he thought of how exposed Stephen was. Could Dormammu kill him? Really kill Stephen? He hated the idea that he’d left the dragon alone, but Fury was right. What could they do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a slight warning, we are officially caught up on pre-written chapters. Hopefully, we'll be able to get the next couple chapters done in time, but it seems fair to warn that life hasn't been the most helpful with us getting things written lately, so there may be a delay on the next chapter... Or maybe not! I suppose we'll see! 💕
> 
> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for panic attacks, and some dark imagery.

A light began to burn in the massive dragon’s maw and soon enough the heat of the blast was bearing down on them, surrounding their shield and leaving those within it swelteringly hot. 

Tony wondered if this was how the Lost that he and Stephen had been dealing with had felt, though the thought didn’t last long.

The fire disappeared and some sort of crystal covered their shield, leaving Thor and Tony to look at one another in confusion. The summons shifted uncertainly, looking around as the world outside of their shield was obscured by the cool fractal formation.

“... Professor?” Tony asked after a moment, feeling the warmth of his dragon’s heart against his chest and watching confusing displays of colour and light strobing outside of their dome.

“... reinforcements?” Fury offered, though he didn’t sound exactly certain himself.

A couple of loud roars rang out and finally something approached near enough to be made clear. An opening in the crystalline prison, and then a familiar face.

“Why brother, you look to be quite a mess,” Loki offered a sly smile. “I suppose this is what you all get for leaving me out of the fun.”

Loki cleared a path, stepping aside to let the group out of the confines of their safety bubble.

"Are you ever sight for sore eyes, brother." Thor walked over to Loki and wrapped his arms around him, and Tony smiled.

"Oh, and Tony?" Loki said as he started helping him out and nodding over to Stephen. "Do try not to leave your things lying around. After all, I am counting on Stephen to help me learn a thing or two after this is all done."

As grateful as Tony was to see Loki and be rescued from the literal jaws of near-death, his heart skipped a beat as he immediately went to Stephen's side who was resting up against the barrier.

The brunette had his arms around Stephen's neck, his wounds had been tended, but not healed - enough to stop the bleeding thanks to Frigga.

"Even I know when I'm beaten..." Stephen mumbled, casting his glance at Loki. "I called for help." Tony smiled and pulled back to look at Stephen and Frigga.

"Thank you..." He regarded Frigga who returned a soft smile before looking Stephen over once again. "You really gave me a scare there..."

A deafening bellow echoed over the chamber, followed by a crash and Tony looked over to the noise, having lost track of Dormammu.

The ashen drake was claw-to-claw grappling with an unfamiliar dragon. A deep ocean blue scaled drake, jagged and nearly as spiny as Dormammu, covered in blue ice and crystals with piercing red eyes.

"Loki, who-"

"Laufey was pretty irate when he heard about what was going on. You can thank mother once again for this, Stark."

“Don’t thank me,” Frigga shook her head a bit in response, “you and Stephen opened the door for this possibility. I would never have seen him again without the precedent you two set.”

The feathered dragon slowly got to his feet, hobbling slightly in pain and clearly not at his best even as the professor tried to tug him back down in an attempt to help him recover further. 

Maria had already rejoined the fight, targeting the metal rod still jammed into the nightmare dragon’s back with another bolt of lightning.

“Summoner,” Stephen stated quietly as he watched the battle, “you need to get to the heart. I am beginning to suspect that it may be Dormammu’s…”

“Stephen, please just relax… let the professor tend to you-”

“I cannot,” Stephen shook his head, looking at Frigga and Tony. “As powerful as Laufey is, he is still limited. I must aid him.”

Giving a heavy sigh of his own, Loki shed his own humanoid appearance into his scales and stretched out his wings. “I will help Laufey fight.”

“You are an untrained whelp,” Stephen responded, “there is only so much you will be able to do to help.”

“I’ll do a hell of a lot more than you old man. You’re hurt. You need to rest.”

“Stephen, please listen to him…”

A large feathered head pressed against Tony’s chest for a moment, and despite the sounds of battle in the background, Tony felt a strange sense of peace having the dragon close. “Please, Stephen…”

“We must end this.”

"Go child - I'll keep your friends safe. Loki knows enough to distract him and not get himself harmed." Frigga nodded to both of them. "I have faith in you both."

Tony lightly smoothed his fingers along the underside of Stephen's jaw as he held tightly to the dragon's snout. Stephen opened his eyes with a determined smile and nodded to his back so the summoner could climb atop.

"Ready when you are," Loki responded, growing to his natural size. "Drop Tony off and I'll meet you at the hissy lizard, don't disappoint me you white-muzzle, I know you're not old enough to be so clumsy."

Loki wasn't as large or bulky as the other drakes, but his slenderness and agility - plus his myriad of tricks were likely to compensate for that loss, at least in part.

The drakes took off towards the two grappling giants, splitting and forking routes. Loki's image split into many while Stephen dropped Tony back off at the heart and erected a small barrier around him.

"We are all counting on you Tony," Stephen nodded his head, nudging the brunette's collarbone before joining the fight.

Tony nodded, then turned and thrust his hand over the heart again with no hesitation, it sparked defiantly in his palm but he didn't let the crackles of dark lightning deter him this time. 

It flashed and vibrated violently and despite its vigorous repulsion towards him, he felt something else in there and was immediately overtaken by a flash of images.

The nightmare realm, Centralia in all it's beauty before it was overtaken by the cursed realm and then all the caretakers of the shrines before they were lost to the curse. It was overwhelming, image upon image of a perfect world flickering and flashing faster than he could honestly. It instilled in him the same sense of peace as Stephen.

He squeezed the heart in his hand and Dormammu's eyes were on him. Stephen's heart lighting up immediately in retaliation.

Dormammu was aware, and as the ashen beast's heart flared he felt so much hate, so much sadness, regret and longing, everything that had been taken away from the drake barreling down on him like a torrential cloudburst of emotion.

“That does not belong to you, summoner,” the massive wyrm growled lowly, though under the assault of three dragons he couldn’t stay focused entirely on the summoner in question. 

Laufey’s large maw had clamped down on the dragon’s throat, and Loki was making every effort to drive the rod in Dormammu’s back deeper with a series of fleeting attacks as Stephen flared his wings between Dormammu and Tony.

Light blossomed at the tips of Stephen’s wings, as though radiating out of the markings on his body, and soon deep crimson bands began to wrap themselves around Dormammu. 

Loki dropped back to avoid being caught in them, and even Laufey began to slink away once he realized what was happening. Then came a set of sapphire bands as the icicle-like spines along Laufey’s back began to glow a bright blue colour.

Finally, bands in a turquoise colour began to wrap around the writhing dragon, whose jaw snapped at anything that grew close enough, but whose eyes never left Tony.

“If you wield that, it will destroy you and I swear to be equally satisfied with that outcome,” the dragon informed him.

“You underestimate my summoner, Dormammu,” Stephen responded even as Tony shifted in discomfort.

He didn’t know why Stephen had asked him to take this, aside from to keep it out of Dormammu’s possession - but more and more he recognized that this _ belonged _ to Dormammu. Was it right to keep his heart from him?

He knew well enough that Dormammu being in possession of this was the cause of much grief, but he didn’t know what Stephen wanted him to do with the heart.

A portal spun and circled behind the ashen drake, black and red where the breach was filled with a lake of stars and violent lights.

"You do not belong here Dormammu, take your beasts and your possessions and never return," Stephen hissed. The maw of the portal began to open wide and grasping shadowy hands began to feed through the dark portal and latch onto Dormammu's body. They pulled him back into what appeared to be some other dimension.

The drake flailed and clawed as the force within the portal compiled and more hands clawed further to reach up the bands as they grappled him in.

Laufey released his bonds, not deeming it necessary to keep them tethered any longer and retreated knowing full well what was happening.

"As long as the heart remains in this realm, I can always return." The drake bellowed as he was dragged through, half of his body sticking through the massive wormhole.

Loki turned to Tony. "Stark, the heart! Throw it into the portal!" The ice drake torpedoed towards Tony to retrieve him, nudging him onto his back so he could fly them closer.

Tony nodded, holding tightly to Loki as they got up close enough for Tony to lob the cracked and splintered stone into the portal. The crimson gem shot past Dormammu into the nether space of the breach and Stephen finally let go of the crimson bands as the realm made to reclaim what once belonged to it.

Loki whisked Tony to safety while the rest of the drakes retreated, only for Dormammu to summon his own bands and leash Stephen as he went to retreat.

"If I have to return to that miserable realm, I'm not leaving without you, whelp," Dormammu spat with malice and gave a tug on his reins. He started to drag Stephen in with him as just his head and upper paws stuck through.

Stephen thrashed, struggling to break the bonds and Tony lurched forward only to be stopped by Laufey.

"Stephen-"

"Stop." The elder wyrm commanded and Stephen's look was resolute as he attempted to fight the bands on his own.

"No human can survive in that realm, it is best you not risk the life your summon saved and jeopardize it. The nightmare consumes everything without regard or prejudice."

“I don’t want to lose him! I just got him back!” Tony cried in response, finding himself nudged further back by the massive ice dragon.

He felt it more than he saw it - the warmth of his dragon’s heart pulsed against his chest. It was reassuring. Loving.

_ Sad. _

“Please,” Tony whispered hoarsely, “I love him. I don’t want to lose him…”

“And he loves you. He will always be with you.”

“You’re just going to… let this happen? You were made to leave Lady Frigga, weren’t you? And you’d let that happen to someone else?”

Laufey remained silent. 

Dormammu was through the portal entirely by that point, as was much of Stephen’s body. His jerking had slowed down, and he caught Tony’s eyes briefly as the shadows swarmed around him and the portal closed.

“Stephen!”

Arms wrapped around him swiftly - three pairs of them - and he whimpered a little as he collapsed against them.

“Tony… it will be okay,” Frigga’s voice was soothing as she ran her fingers into his hair, and all he could do was cry into her shoulder.

“We still need to set the crystal properly,” he heard Fury faintly over the sound of his heart beating far too hard in his ears. He couldn’t feel Stephen. He couldn’t hear him. The stone, once again, had become cool and quiet.

Stephen had been torn away from him and it was killing him.

“We can’t set it on our own, that would overwhelm us,” Thor reasoned, his voice so far away. “Loki…?”

“If Stephen was unable to, I doubt I’d have much better luck. I’m not certain why it was that Tony was so easily able to-”

“I’ll set it,” he mumbled quietly. “I’ll set it and… we can go home.”

His heart felt like it had just been torn from his chest, thrown onto the ground and stepped on.

_ But everything was fine because Stephen was fine. _

As he was told.

He marched up to the altar, climbing the stairs towards the heart of the temple with his eyes nearly shut in shame as he ascended unto the dais. He stared at the reflective surface of the crystal and in turn stared back at himself.

He'd let it happen. He'd let Dormammu take Stephen, _ and so had everyone else. _

_ It's fine, he'll be alright. _

He could _ easily _ ignore the swelling anxiety, the aches and daggers he was wrought with as he stared down the semi-translucent crystal that spoke for the heart of all reality.

He looked at it, and it looked back at him.

_ Everything was fine. _

He paused, staring back at the crystal, it's vibrant magentas reflecting in his eyes, shifting in colour to a reddish tone as it illuminated the cavern.

And then he reached out, grasping the large artifact with his hands and the object melted.

_ Everything was… fine? _

Tony felt a jolt through his body, it rattled his bones and shook him to his core. It felt like he'd just been electrocuted. Fire coursed through his veins as he felt the crystal liquifying and absorbing into his body.

There was nothing left. The world spun, his hands stung as if they'd been burned, and he felt drunk off the world.

The heart around his neck cracked.

Tony then passed out.

_ Everything was not fine. _

* * *

It was disorienting.

He didn’t know where he was or what was happening at first. The world was a swirl of confusion around him and he felt groggy, with his vision clouded as though he’d just woken up.

As the fog in his eyes cleared, it became apparent that he was at a dinner table. 

His father sat at the head of the table as he usually did and a vague figure approached carrying a large roast. His mother smiled at him as she gestured to the roast before taking a seat to his father’s right and the two began serving themselves.

Focusing on the roast itself left Tony feeling sick, however. 

The platter had been beautifully adorned with familiar feathers and berries red enough to look like droplets of blood. Some sort of large, plucked poultry was on the platter and his eyes kept falling to the blue, red and green feathers as his mind fought to determine why they were so familiar.

He looked towards the roast’s head and a bright blue eye opened to stare at him.

He shoved himself away from the table, his mother said something unintelligible, though he could hear some concern in her voice. As he looked at her again, what stared back was a woman rapidly decaying, her body being enveloped by the blackness of the scourge.

All that remained soon enough was a Lost, staring hollowly at him in the dim light.

“Did you think this was over?” a familiar voice inquired.

Turning to seek it out, Tony was met with a view of Stephen entangled in barbed wire, straining and fighting to free himself of it. His feathers were nearly desaturated entirely, and streaks of crimson stood out in stark contrast to his greying feathers.

“He’s in my world now. Alone, where he cannot call on you. I could not end his life in your plane, because that is not where he is from… but here… he has nowhere to retreat to, and nothing more to call on. You are both alone now, summoner,” the voice used the word mockingly. 

“Now and forever.”

* * *

Tony's eyes shot open.

He woke up in a cold sweat in the hospital. White room, white lights, white-everything.

"Stephen..." he whimpered, feeling reality hit him with the force of a truck as he sat up and fingered the heart around his neck. His head swam with vertigo as he looked around, vision disoriented and blurry.

His fingers coursed over the divots and cracks, it felt like the small fissure had spread and he felt his chest drop, heaving heavily in a panic attack as Loki was at his side trying to steady him and bring him back to reality.

"Tony, I'm here, you're safe. Everything's alright."

"No..." Tony started as Loki checked him over. "Stephen is still stuck in that realm, we let him down - he can't get out. He needs help!" Hysteria washed over him, leaving him looking around as if there was something more he could do.

"Tony, calm down, you need to recover. Stephen's fine he-"

"He's not fine! The heart is cracked! It's spreading! He's dying!" Tony responded frantically. He didn't know what to do, what he could do or where to start. Stephen had been taken god-knew-where and he had no idea of reaching out to him.

“You can’t help him if you’re panicking!”

His chest felt tight, and the haze around the outside of his vision was an indication that Loki had chosen the word purposefully. There was very little he could do about it though. His mind was caught in a swirl of grief, worry, and despair, and he couldn’t see a way out.

Stephen was gone.

Stephen was somewhere he couldn’t reach him.

Stephen was suffering.

Stephen was _ dying _.

“I need him,” he whimpered softly. Loki held him tightly, holding him close. “I need him to come home… I don’t know how to bring him home… what… what if I summoned him again?”

“Tony…”

The summoner pushed at Loki’s shoulders a bit, trying to free himself. “I should summon him. The book… Loki, get the book!”

“Tony! Stop it, lay back down! You’re going to pull your IV out!”

He slowed at that, looking down at his arm to vaguely notice the tube in his arm and frowned deeply. He looked at Loki slowly, his heart still hammering too hard in his chest.

“... why do I need a…?”

“You’ve been in here for a few days now, Tony. You didn’t wake up… We were worried about you.”

The idea of being passed out in the hospital for a few days should have bothered Tony, but for some reason, it didn't. Not any more than anything else swirling around in his mind.

He sighed, slumping in his spot as Loki called over one of the nurses. 

It went by in a blur - the process of them checking him over and discharging him from the hospital. He was overwhelmed with a sense of lethargy and it was taxing to even be around Loki, never mind being in public right now.

"Come, let's get you back to the apartment." Loki slung an arm around his shoulders. 

"I know the professors wanted to have a word with you, something about honouring your achievements in the field," the black-haired man looked him over and tapped his chin, "but something tells me you don't feel quite up to that for now." The drake hummed trying to lift his friend's spirits with a perky cadence.

Tony shook his head. "I just want to get cleaned up." 

Loki nodded and opened a portal to Tony's apartment and when the summoner looked up he felt his chest sink and the world spin around him.

"I-" Loki looked between Tony and the portal and immediately shut it.

"I'm sorry... If you would like, you can come to my house, I'm sure I'll have some robes I can lend you as well for the time being if you don't wish to go back to your own residence." Another breach opened and he tugged Tony through who was less reluctant to follow.

"Thanks… I think I just need to be alone for a bit."

"Stark, being alone right now is the last thing anyone is going to let you be."

“I really just need some time, Lokes, please… I don’t want any honours or celebrations… I just want-”

“Stephen, yes I know. Trust me, we’ll help you but you need to work on getting yourself back to 100% before any of that.” Loki gave a heavy sigh as he opened a door into one of the spare rooms to offer it to Tony. 

“Look, I think Laufey and Fury are discussing options… I just… I don’t want to promise you anything. It’s been days already and with Dormammu banished there’s a lot that needs to be fixed and checked on… the world is changing, strangely and rapidly…”

“The priority isn’t Stephen. I get it,” Tony responded, though his chest felt horribly tight as he spoke those words. “Can I just… I just need a shower. Or a bath. Or whatever…”

“... sure thing,” Loki responded as he gathered up a towel and bathrobe for Tony, guiding him to a bathroom and setting them both on the counter. “Take all the time you need, okay? I’ll talk to mother and father… pretty sure you staying here isn’t going to be an issue so… if you need it, we have space for you until you’re ready.”

“Thanks. I’ll... figure that out later. For now, I just need…”

“Yeah, sure thing. You wash up and we’ll see about getting you something nice and light for your stomach and… we’ll work on it from there. Things will be okay, Tony… you’ll see.”

Tony nodded his thanks to Loki and sequestered himself to the bathroom.

He ran the water, dipping his hand in and out and setting the temperature so he would be comfortable. Once the tub was filled, he slipped in, divested of his clothing and sank in to his shoulders.

His head tilted back on the porcelain tub and he let out a breath which felt like the first decent breath of air he'd been able to exhale in a long while.

The warmth of the water worked to alleviate some of his stress, but it didn't liberate him from his anxieties as he gently flushed water over his shoulders with soap. 

Eyes shut as the waves in the basin soothed his skin and rocked him back into solitude.

He felt as if Stephen was there, the water - his paws and his feathers, wrapped in the heat of his quills as the necklace somewhat warmed with his placid disposition.

It was painful being so alone and he really had to give it to Loki for allowing him to stay or god forbid the poor summoner would have had a break-down in his own apartment.

He took his time with the bath. 

He took his time with a lot of things.

Over the week that followed his mind was occupied constantly, and as much as he attempted to sink into some kind of normalcy - by attending classes again, as he couldn’t bring himself to return to his and Stephen’s apartment - nothing felt right. 

His nights were plagued by dreams of Stephen and Dormammu battling, his days spent in exhaustion as he pointedly ignored any efforts by those around him to talk about what had happened.

Fury seemed to take the hint well enough after Tony spent days avoiding the man, but that didn’t stop Professor Kaplan from inviting him to lunch one day. 

Tony couldn’t help but accept, given his own questions.

It was while they were waiting for their dessert that Tony finally voiced the thoughts that had long been swirling in his head. 

“You knew, didn’t you?”

The young man looked up at him with a sad smile. “I did. Stephen did as well.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why was it some big secret?”

“We couldn’t be certain that you would still take the steps you needed to take if you knew. We couldn’t risk the corruption continuing… what was done needed to be done. The bane of all diviners is knowing things can happen, but also knowing that those things can be thrown off the path they’re intended to be on easily.”

“Don’t talk to me about some kind of bane. You sacrificed Stephen-”

“Stephen sacrificed _ himself. _ He made his own decision. Be careful not to discount Stephen’s power to choose by selfishly blaming others.”

There was a silence that stretched between the two. 

Tony sat, aggravated at the loss, upset at the secrets kept from him but most of all upset at himself for letting this all happen.

_ It was hard. _

Being upset with oneself meant that there was nowhere to direct one’s anger. It meant bottling everything up and it also meant that there was a degree of regret harboured for oneself that would always linger. Self-loathing was self-destructive, it was volatile and it was easy for that volatility to bubble over and spill out onto those around you.

The quiet stretched out, Tony directing his rage towards the table with the force of the sun's heat he may just burn a hole through the wood.

"Take caution in how you choose to misdirect your feelings Stark, lest you walk the path of that you sought to purge," Kaplan spoke softly.

"You know what's going to happen next, is he coming back? Is Stephen going to be ok?" The summoner's tone was desperate.

Kaplan made no indication of the outcome, his poker face was one to rival champions.

"It's simply not my secret to tell Tony, lest I risk harming the true timeline," he paused and offered an apologetic smile to the summoner, the only act of camaraderie he could in the situation. 

"Have faith in yourself, and have faith in Stephen. Though times will be difficult ahead, you must not falter. Stop fighting the current and simply swim with it, lest you drown."

He felt like he was drowning, alright.

It felt like he was drowning when he was laying in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. 

It felt like he was drowning when he realized the bed he was in was too small to ever house both he and Stephen.

None of Stephen’s feathers remained, and even weeks later he couldn’t bring himself to return to their apartment and its emptiness. He didn’t want to see the pile of treasure without Stephen rolling around in it and fishing for something to give him as a gift. He didn’t want to see their big bed that should have housed both of them.

He thought back on the days that he’d mistreated Stephen, the times he’d spent not wanting the other and inevitably driving him away and sunk deeper into his self-loathing. It was time they could’ve had together. Time they could’ve spent together and time they had lost.

He had hoped everything would be okay. He had hoped that never making that mistake again would be enough.

People came to check on him time now and again, but most of the conversations were short, stilted things as people weren’t sure how delicately he needed handling. No one mentioned Stephen, and he wasn’t sure if he was grateful for that or hurt by it. 

It felt as though people were trying to pretend he never existed, despite that every night he had nightmares of the two dragons battling, and every morning Tony was forced to look in the mirror and see the damaged dragon’s heart growing steadily worse.

What was once a shining enigmatic red gem with what Tony always liked to imagine was a captive blazing star in the center, was merely a cracked, paling stone which was simply a shell of its former brilliance.

The rifts spread much like the scourge did on an afflicted human specimen, inevitable and slow. Imperfections, fissures and chips in the stone were evident and it was a wonder how the eerily cold rock held itself together.

It was torture to never know. 

It was ultimate cruelty which was almost as awful as the idea of Stephen's oblivion as its terminal outcome.

Tony hated the idea.

He hated that he couldn't do anything, hated how people treated him. There was no way that any of his friends or colleagues could speak to him without him finding any of them the least bit patronizing or sympathetic.

He didn't need sympathy, he didn't need to be babied.

What he needed was Stephen back.

What he got was adulation.

As the people affected by the scourge were released from hospitals and care homes around the globe, people sought answers to the source of the cure. 

Tony’s name kept coming up, _ Tony’s name alone. _

His father latched on to that concept quickly, promoting his genius without any actual knowledge of the events, and Tony found that anger steadily rose in him at that. 

It wasn’t his cure. It was Stephen’s, and no one would so much as utter his name, never mind acknowledge that a dragon had saved the people.

His father made efforts to reach out to him that went ignored as Tony isolated himself in the spare room of the Odinsons’ household.

“Tony,” a voice called from his door, before slowly opening it.

He’d come to adore Frigga over the last couple of months. She put up with a lot from him, given he’d had a couple of absolutely childish fits. He couldn’t even bring himself to admire the way the skies had started to clear, though he had at least taken the time with Loki to acknowledge his progress. 

Laufey had made it clear that the issue in the mountains had been Loki’s own inability to control his elemental powers, and that all he needed was a little training.

Frigga and Laufey were hard to be around, however. The woman was in the opposite situation, she and her dragon were together again. Their happiness was a thing that radiated through the household, despite the friction it caused with Odin on occasion.

“Hey… are you going to eat tonight?” Frigga inquired softly. “You should. Sitting around here isn’t going to help anyone…”

“I can’t help Stephen, so what does it matter?”

The professor sighed softly as she made her way in and sat beside him on his bed. “... Stephen wouldn’t want you waste away like this. And sitting here doesn’t help you help Stephen, does it?”

"I can't help it… In a way we all won, we got what we wanted and sent Dormammu back - we banished him but in essence, I guess he got what he wanted in the end, too." Tony stared down at the sheets of the bed and his feet, getting lost in the lines his weight imprinted on them

Frigga stayed silent, listening and allowing Tony to speak his mind.

"He wanted me to be miserable, wanted to separate us, he wanted to kill one of us and even if Stephen isn't dead yet, it's been _ killing me _to think of that possibly happening." 

His chest twisted painfully, he'd refused to even finger the heart around his neck for fear the stone may shatter and crumble under his touch. 

There was another pause, and Tony could hear the soft shifting of Frigga adjusting her position beside him.

"When Dormammu's plight struck the land, he unleashed a sickness that slowly ate away, slowly killed those afflicted by it… It went after the weak of heart, and it took someone as strong-willed as you to help remedy that," Frigga started.

"I didn't do anything, Stephen was-"

"Stephen was only part of the remedy, as were you and Loki and everyone involved in your life who walked with you down that path. Everyone who suffered, in turn, helped to guide you to this." Frigga moved her hand to place on Tony's knee.

"There's strength in numbers, what Dormammu's done is weakened you, as he used the scourge to attack the populace - he used Stephen as a means to get to you. If you want to help Stephen, you can get better, you can be stronger. I know you're more than capable of it Tony, you've gone through far worse than this. He needs your strength, but if you don't help yourself first you won't have anything left to give to him." She squeezed his leg and withdrew.

"Take a moment for yourself. We'd love to have you join us for dinner, we all miss you, Tony." Frigga looked to Loki who'd come up beside her and she'd nodded for them both to head downstairs to give Tony some time.

He let her words sink in as he sat there, closing his eyes and shaking his head a little in an attempt to get his thoughts in order. It was a few minutes before someone else’s words came flooding back.

_ “Believe in him,” _ he’d been told by Fury what felt like forever ago, but another’s words flooded into his mind as well.

_ “... your faith in my skill... and your belief in me empowers me - that is your power as a summoner of a dream dragon... I am not incapable of using all of my powers without you, but my magic can be strangled by a lack of faith. If you believed that I could not help you, I would be dramatically more limited in what I could do to help you…” _

He’d spent months sitting there believing all was lost. Believing that Stephen couldn’t protect himself. Believing that Stephen was in danger…

… was he endangering Stephen by doing so?

He frowned deeply, before finally throwing back his covers and making his way to the door. He needed to know. And he needed to look for a way to save Stephen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	18. Chapter 18

Tony's appearance over the next few days seemed a little more prominent. He hadn't completely shaken the funk but he was starting to see things in another light lately.

The brunette was less reserved, showing up at Fury's classes again despite no longer having a summon. He followed the same curriculum, refusing to conjure up any other beast and focus steadily on honing his powers into the heart rather than into another companion.

The nightmares continued and they left Tony no less distraught. Stephen was fighting Dormammu like some old, agonizing nightmare. 

"Hang in there..." His voice echoed through the dream state, each time he attempting to bolster Stephen with words of encouragement. "We'll get you back again Stephen… I'll bring you home." 

His meekly uttered words travelled like an echo through a damp hollow cavern, and only short, strangled utterances of Tony's name were returned from the snared beast as a faint echo.

It hurt, it always hurt. 

He felt Stephen's pain through his words and the dream, though each time he did his best and tried new spells to break him free form the nightmare.

At one point Fury even offered up the tome to Tony. There were spells in there even the professor didn't entirely understand and he wasn’t certain they would help, but he was confident in Tony's ability to handle such an important book and the engineer was grateful for that.

One night in particular, he’d managed to recollect a spell that he thought might help him reach the entangled dragon. He knew it would take a lot of energy out of him, but he also knew that the dreams impacted Stephen in a very real way - and he was determined to assist.

The creatures that restrained him burned away as he managed to press forward, growing nearer and nearer to the battling creatures. 

As he reached out Stephen’s tail curled around Tony’s wrist and he could’ve sobbed with relief at the feeling of those feathers against his skin again.

“Stephen…” he stated quietly, “I’m going to bring you home…”

Stephen glanced at him briefly, his wings flaring to protect Tony from the gaze of the other dragon before a sudden flash of deep red overtook his vision.

“I won’t let him keep you here… Stephen…”

“Silva…” the dragon responded softly, before bellowing in alarm as the massive dragon was thrown away from them and the deep red began to swirl around the pair, grasping and grappling at the weakened dragon.

Stephen twisted in his arms, folding the summoner into his wings as though to protect him from the light as he whimpered lowly, and Tony simply buried his face in against the feathers of Stephen’s chest and sobbed.

“Come home with me, Stephen…”

"I am always home, I am always with you..." Stephen repeated. They were the same words he said every time there was a distance imposed between them, and it was starting to make the dragon sound like a broken record.

He wanted Stephen in his arms, he wanted to be able to touch him again, lay down with him again, study with him again. He was doing his best every day to stay optimistic, but it was always difficult - coming back here each night to see his dragon in the state he was in.

Dormammu's eyes loomed above them, and he was about to strike them both before Tony held out a hand and cast a flare in the shadow's direction. 

A bright light flashed with the intensity of a quasar and the dragon retreated somewhat. He hissed and Stephen's wings closed tightly around him to protect his summoner even in the dream realm.

"You could not even handle me out in your own realm, what makes you so sure you will be able to deal with me now that we are in my home dimension?" The nightmare mocked and he lashed out again, slicing at Stephen with his claws as he protectively curled around Tony. 

The dream drake hissed and lashed back at Dormammu before Stephen sent Tony away and turned to wrestle the other drake.

"I'll bring you home Stephen, I'll find a way to get you out of here!" was the last thing he remembered saying before he woke.

He felt sadness, melancholy, but there was some part of him that felt more determined than that last time as if his hope had been somehow renewed.

“Tony? Are you all right? You were screaming…” A voice came from the door, and Tony sighed softly to himself, rubbing at his arms as he sat up.

“Sorry, Thor, I’m fine. Just… a nightmare,” he responded quietly.

“May I come in? I was going to bring you breakfast… if not I can give this tray to Loki, I didn’t bring him his yet, either…”

“Yeah, come on in.”

The big blonde man opened the door and carried in a tray that he easily set down on the table beside Tony’s bed. “You wanna talk about it at all?”

“... no, not really,” Tony sighed, looking at Thor and trying to offer a smile when the other man looked downcast. “I could use a hug, though? I uh… I kinda… miss those.”

He’d barely finished speaking when the man’s arms wrapped around him, holding him close and leaving him to exhale and relax against the broad shoulders.

“Bruce says I’m excellent at hugs.”

“You shouldn’t be talking so easily  _ about your sex _ life, Thor. You might embarrass poor Bruce,” Tony teased softly, before yelping in surprise as Thor’s finger dug into his side in retaliation.

“You watch yourself,” Thor huffed a little bit, slowly releasing Tony and giving him a playful smile anyway.

"Pardon me for overstepping my bounds Tony, I wanted to put it out there. If you ever need to talk to anyone about what happened, you should know that Bruce and I are always here for you," Thor added as he leaned out of Tony's space.

The idea normally would have put Tony off, it was the same line he'd been fed from everyone. He knew help was there and readily offered and that the signals he'd been putting out hard to interpret. He would have been angry or even spiralled at the mention of talking over what happened to Stephen but for some odd reason, today seemed different.

So, what the hell.

"I know Thor, and I really appreciate it. It's hard to talk about his stuff, and I know you were there but really, all I'm doing now is trying to move forward and not dwell on the past. I need to work on getting Stephen out of the nightmare realm." 

Thor nodded quietly. Of all the people Tony expected to understand the nuances of the situation, Thor would be the last but without any signs of being told no the blond opted to speak his mind.

"So Dormammu pulled Stephen into this nightmare realm," Thor spoke and Tony nodded. "A place where he is from, and Stephen is a dream dragon - and Dormammu used to be a dream dragon as well, correct me if I'm wrong." 

Thor looked for any sign that Tony was getting uncomfortable, but the brunette simply nodded.

"And Stephen draws his powers from the realm of dreams, while Dormammu adversely draws his power from the nightmare realm," Thor mused, "then, in essence, are they not the same?"

"Yes, and no," Tony shook his head.

"Well, as I see it when I have a bad dream, I tend to wake up and everything is all better," Thor added though he realized that didn't really help. Tony rolled his eyes at the obvious.

"But when a dreamer is lucid, can they not manipulate the dream, even the nightmare if they tried hard enough?" Thor questioned, though still looking a bit sheepish with where he was prodding, and Tony squinted before something almost clicked in his head.

"Pardon me if I'm… not quite on track with this," Thor added.

"No… it's fine, it makes sense." Tony looked a little more invested.

"You mentioned before," Thor gestured to the heart, "Stephen draws his power from you, and you from him. I was taught dream drakes manipulate the dream to shape themselves in your imagination. Could you not, in turn, manipulate the dream to get Stephen out? A realm of limitless power and potential that you can ideally tap into?" Thor tapped his chin. 

"I may be just confusing myself here, I thought it sounded plausible at the time." The blond laughed to save face.

Really, Thor didn’t seem as far off target as he thought he was.

Tony had been lacking in his faith, in his imagination, he hadn't even tried to work with Stephen's powers, or the dream, or the nightmare. The same way Stephen had manifested himself into his own world using magic as a bridge… maybe he could, in essence, do the same when he returned?

There was a very real chance he could do this if he wasn't sure before.

“Thanks, Thor,” Tony responded softly.

“Of course. Why don’t you put some pants on and I’ll gather Loki and Bruce and we can go have some pizza? It’ll do you good to get out of the house and get some fresh air,” the man offered a smile at that, patting his shoulder. “I’m paying.”

“I dunno. Having to put on pants sounds like a deal-breaker.”

“If you want to wear a skirt no one is going to judge you. I support you in whatever expression of self you want to partake in-”

“I don’t think I want cold wind gusting up on my junk, thanks,” Tony chuckled a bit at that, rolling his eyes as Thor offered him a grin.

“Then get dressed. We’ll meet you out front, okay?”

The more he thought about it the more he realized that Bruce might have some advice where lucid dreaming was concerned. As he got himself dressed it occurred to him that he and Stephen had discussed lucid dreaming - or something like it - months and months ago. He recalled insisting that he couldn’t control his dreams and yet now he found himself determined to figure out how he could take control.

He tugged a jacket over his shoulders before making his way downstairs, waving to Frigga and Odin before stepping outside to join the trio who awaited him.

"Look who's finally crawled out of their cave! Hopefully, you don't see your shadow and turn back," Loki teased lightly and slung an arm around the summoner's shoulders.

Bruce reached to pat Tony on the back, smiling as he regarded him. 

"I don't know what Thor said but it's nice to see you again bud, I was starting to think we'd never get to hang out again." 

Tony returned the smile. He felt a little better, probably the best he'd felt since the incident. He could almost feel the release of dopamine when he'd seen everyone waiting outside the door for him, all smiles, all attention on him and how their faces lit up when he'd come outside.

"I thought it was about time I came out of hibernation." He gave a small laugh and Loki dragged him forward to get walking. They took their time heading towards the pizzeria. Every now and then a few people stopped to thank Tony for what he'd done and rather than correct them, or let the compliments he thought he didn't deserve to bother him, he nodded politely instead.

The city seemed more alive again as they walked, listening in as they all joked and talked about the goings-on and the recent assignment they'd been struggling with.

He was content to listen, and mixed with the small seed of hope he felt planted in his mind of saving Stephen he legitimately felt happy for once. For a moment, he even thought he felt a warmth coming from the heart, or a slight vibration, but it didn't persist.

“So what’s got you so cheery?” Loki inquired, leaning to nudge Tony a little as he nibbled at his pizza, watching the man.

They’d had a good talk so far, everything was fairly light and friendly, simply catching up as they all sat together. Across the table from he and Loki, Thor and Bruce sat shoulder to shoulder eating their own pizza and exchanging smiles.

So far it had been pleasant, and despite the small ache that came from Loki asking the question, Tony gave the group a smile.

“I thought Bruce might know a thing or two about lucid dreaming,” Tony admitted with a little shrug, looking down at his food for a moment before looking over at the man. “Stephen used to make fun of me for not being able to control what happened in my dreams. I figured he thought it was easy because, you know, that’s his whole thing, right? But… I’m starting to wonder if there isn’t more to that. If I could control my dreams… maybe I could bring him home.”

“That’s… quite a theory. It’s not easy to learn to control your dreams,” Bruce responded, looking thoughtful as Tony ate and watched him intently. “I’ve been able to do it a few times myself, but not usually until something happens that makes me realize that I’m dreaming. Lucid dreaming can be pretty challenging…”

“So you can’t help?”

“Tony, I will do everything I can to help you and to get Stephen back. He saved my life,” the brunette smiled warmly, “I’ll never forget that.”

Tony nodded and Bruce swallowed his mouthful, grabbing a slice but not yet taking a bite.

"If it's a reoccurring dream, and you realize where he is, then you've already managed to understand when you are lucid - which is the first important part of the whole equation," Bruce started, setting his pizza down on the paper plate on the table, picking off the pepperoni slices and nibbling them first.

"Next, you need to understand that despite where you are and who you are sharing the dream with, you are ultimately in control and hold the most power," Bruce pointed to his head and tapped it. "It's your realm of thought, your imagination, no matter what Dormammu wants you to believe.”

Tony leaned forward with a vested interest, grabbing another slice and paying close attention to Bruce, offering a nod here and there in response.

Bruce finished chewing and then spoke up again. "Last, understand that dragons - dream dragons specifically, are manifestations of a mind. You created Stephen in your own thoughts, just as Dormammu was created in someone else's. It's mostly about understanding that basic principle and willing yourself to take control of the dream, whether it is a nightmare or not. As the summoner of a dream entity that's where you hold your power doubly so." 

Tony nodded once again and Bruce smiled.

"You're in as much control in your own sleep in the nightmare realm as you are in the dream realm. It's all the dream realm, it's just that we're usually so overtaken by our worst fears and thoughts that we forget that, and that's how Dormammu's been able to repress you."

“But how do I achieve lucidity? I still struggle with how you’re supposed to determine you’re in a dream while you’re dreaming…” Tony frowned a little. “Sure, if I know I’m in a dream then great! But how do you make sure you do? I can’t just wait around to figure it out. I don’t know how much time Stephen has.”

“You’re asking a lot if you think you’re going to figure it out overnight,” Bruce responded quietly. “If it was that simple then everyone would try lucid dreaming. There are things you can do to raise the likelihood of lucid dreaming, but they’re often techniques you need to practice for a little time before you can achieve.”

“Being fair, Tony’s connected to a dream dragon,” Loki reasoned, “it may be easier for him to achieve lucid dreaming than most.”

“That’s true. He does have an inherent connection to the dream world…” Bruce hummed thoughtfully.

“What kinds of things do I need to do?”

“There are a few things. One of the most basic tests is, even when you feel certain that you’re awake, do some kind of test to check if you’re awake or dreaming. If you make a habit of it, then doing those checks should become a natural part of your dreaming,” Bruce explained. 

“For instance, attempt to put your finger through your hand with the expectation that it will go through. If the finger goes through, you’re dreaming. You might also use a mantra before you sleep to ingrain in your mind that you will know you are dreaming. Some people also use certain types of incense when they sleep to help them achieve a lucid dreaming state, though the effectiveness of those often differs from person to person.”

Thor sat by quietly and shoved another piece into his mouth, meanwhile Tony leaned over the table and started to pick at the bubble on his crust.

"This is for normal people though," Bruce added, finally taking another bite of his slice now that he'd finished his preamble. 

"Who's to say that things aren't different in the nightmare realm, or the dream realm, especially with Stephen around? I believe things may be quite different for him through his connection to it," Loki hummed, leaning on the table, seemingly quite done with his portion of the meal.

"The important thing is -" Bruce had finished his slice, pausing to stifle a burp. "Sorry- you need to believe in yourself and Stephen. It's something he's been telling you, and it's always come through. I believe in him, and I know you can do it, Tony, because honestly, you've done a lot more unbelievable stuff so far, and this doesn't seem like anything more than a slight roadblock." Bruce flashed the brunette a gentle reassuring smile before taking in another bite.

"Yeah, you know I'm trying to be good about that, make sure I'm not doubting him." 

He let out a sigh, lifting the piece up and staring at it idly, not knowing whether to take a bite or simply put it down. He could eat it and wind up feeling sick, which was the trouble in being in his current mood.

"Thanks, guys, it means a lot… and sorry things have just been a little rocky lately..."

“You’ve been going through a lot, it’s to be expected,” Bruce smiled softly. “We understand.”

“Speak for yourself,” Loki huffed, rolling his eyes a little. There was a playful smile on his features that Tony recognized as his teasing smile. “You haven’t had to live with the sad sack.”

“Actually, that makes a good point…” Bruce responded, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. “You might have a better connection with Stephen at home, in a residence you’re familiar with…”

Tony swallowed hard at that. He hadn’t been back to the apartment in a long while, now, and the anxiety of stepping foot in there had prevented him from even fetching his own changes of clothes. Thor had been the one to do that for him.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, though before he could manage to get his vocal cords to cooperate, Thor spoke up. “If you’d like… we can all go with you this afternoon? Perhaps… spend a little time sitting around. It might need some airing out and dusting… if you’re ready. There’s no pressure.”

“I know,” Tony spoke up quietly, curling his hands around his cup of water and staring at it seriously. “If… you guys would be willing… it might be worth testing…”

"Whatever you need from us Tony, spare no reservations." Thor nodded and everyone else nodded in turn.

They finished up their meal, the only corpse of their meal was a few displaced toppings and the pizza bones in the cardboard box. Bruce disposed of the compost, then recycled the box, all rising to head out towards Tony's apartment.

There wasn't any rush so they opted to walk the fifteen minutes it would take to reach the summoner's quarters and give Tony time that he needed to mentally prepare himself for what was to come.

He could have argued that he wasn't ready, it was too soon - but really, was it? 

It had been a month and a little more, and if he never bit the bullet and went, he'd make the same excuses over and over again every time. Right now he had friends, people who were there to support him and help him out, and that made this the most ideal time.

Though, that didn't help with any of the unsettling feelings.

He felt Loki's hand on his back as they arrived at the apartment and he took in a deep breath, pausing before he opened up the door to the apartment.

Contrary to what they thought, the place wasn't dirty or dusty. The place was still relatively clean, but it still felt wrong to be home alone again, like everything that had happened until this point was all just a fevered dream as if Stephen had never existed.

“Wow, this whole treasure pond thing is so well organized,” Bruce remarked absently as he took a look around, and Tony felt his chest tighten at the thought.

“Stephen likes to keep different things separate,” Tony explained softly, though he didn’t look in the room itself. “It made it easier for him to find the things he was looking for. He had moods where he’d want to wear things in different colours and that would mean going through and finding the right thing…”

“But the coinage?”

“Just colour coordination. He insisted gold was more comfortable to lay on than silver,” Tony shrugged a little, avoiding looking at anyone as he spoke. “Which makes sense, pure gold is softer than pure silver, and a lot of that is precisely that.”

“You’re telling me you have a room full of gold and silver and jewelry and-” Loki started before Tony cut him off.

“ _ Stephen _ has a room full of those things. It’s all Stephen’s. He found it, he transported it all… even the fabrics and cushions. I only added one thing in the room, and that was so I could hang out with him in there comfortably…”

Tony walked around, looking over the basin in the next room where the two of them used to take baths. Loki's eyes narrowed in on the massive pool and then looked at Tony. 

"The lot of you are pampered as all hell, and you never thought to invite us over for a pool party?" The ice drake looked distraught.

Tony sighed as he looked over the water. His residual magic was still keeping it warm, it was a wonder it didn't fade.

"Do you exactly invite people over to go swimming in your tub, Loki?" Tony raised an eyebrow. Thor let out a little chuckle and they walked over to their main living space.

"But seriously Tony, you do realize that's the size of a pool? I don't even get that luxury," the green drake scoffed playfully and they walked passed the couch. 

The red quilt was still laying on the ground, the one Stephen loved to worm his way under. He'd always find little down feathers stuck into the red fabric, and he remembered on occasion he'd come home on late days and Stephen would be completely covered in the blanket and surprise him.

"This place looks like it was just abandoned," Bruce said quietly. It was so eerily perfect, yet had enough clutter and displaced commonly used items to be just a little unsettling. "I get why you wouldn't want to be here on your own."

Tony nodded.

“We were here… and then he was gone,” the summoner responded, hesitating before grabbing the blanket and pulling it against him. It still smelled of fresh-baked cinnamon buns.

“I’m going to gather a few things to see if we can’t help get you into the best position for lucid dreaming.” Bruce touched his shoulder gently, giving him a light squeeze before turning and heading out the door.

Loki shifted in his spot before sitting down. “Do you figure you’ll be okay staying here overnight on your own? Or should we prepare for a sleepover?”

“I don’t know,” Tony shook his head. “On the one hand if this works I’ll probably want some time alone with him for a while… if it doesn’t… I doubt being alone will be good for me…”

“You’re so decisive,” Loki sighed at him, watching Thor take up a chair. After a few moments, Tony wrapped himself up in the blanket.

“You don’t have to stay here.”

“It’s not about having to or not. I want to know if you’ll be okay. Your well being is important to me,” Loki huffed a little.

“To all of us,” Thor chimed in, and Tony gave them a small smile.

“I’m sure… I’ll be fine on my own. I’ll bring Stephen home and… you know. Things will work out. Somehow.”

Tony nodded and sat down on the side of his bed. He looked to the nightstand and saw some of the old trinkets Stephen had given to him. Various necklaces and rings, gems and golds from the mountain of riches he'd amassed. Each one was chosen with care and love, and he smiled sadly as he ran his fingers over the crest of one of the pendants he clearly couldn't wear now that he had the dragon's heart.

Bruce returned shortly with something that looked like traditional incense and a crystal. Tony tilted his head curiously as he peered at the items Bruce set down at the side of his bed on the nightstand.

"This is a shamanic dream crystal." He slid the vibrant stone closer to Tony. 

A clear almost quartz-like rock but much larger and more transparent with other minerals that looked like clouds of a galaxy trapped within it in various greens, reds and purples. There was a faint opalescent sheen as he tilted it in the light, revealing nuances of vibrant colour flecks deeper within the mix of hues inside.

"And the incense is something to calm you down. I did a little asking around and I found out that all the lucid dreamers and practitioners swear by this sort of incense."

“What’s the rock for?” Tony asked softly, flipping it around in his hand and looking it over curiously. The incense he understood, but he couldn’t sense any magic on the crystal in his hand.

“It promotes lucid dreaming and acts as a portal to other dimensions while keeping you grounded in your dreaming experience. It’s supposedly pretty helpful to lucid dreaming. I picked one up myself,” Bruce added with a smile.

“... what am I supposed to do with it? It’s… a rock, Bruce.”

“Just… tuck it under your pillow. Even if you think it’s nothing more than a rock, isn’t every chance of improving your likelihood helpful?”

“I suppose so,” Tony sighed, wrinkling his nose. “But sleeping on a rock sounds extremely uncomfortable.”

“Suck it up, princess. It’s not going to be super intrusive,” Loki chimed, peering at them and taking the stone for himself, before looking entirely fascinated for a moment. “You… called this just a rock? Really? Look deeper, Tony.”

Tony peered into the crystal, eyes catching the small sprinkles of colourful lustre. It shone beautifully as the small particles within it caught the light and seemed to be consistently shifting. Whether or not Loki intended to hand him this, the clear shamanic stone reminded him of the same beautiful glow of Stephen's white feathers. It was almost enigmatic in a way, and he'd just called it a simple rock.

Loki was right.

He tucked it under his pillow with a smile and nodded to Bruce as the other summoner set up the stand on his bedside table.

A few sticks of something that smelled musky but with a soft tapering after-scent that was much lighter on the senses.

Bruce conjured a small flame and lit the stick set in the holder, then waited for the string-thin line of smoke to billow up into the air.

"Incense has been used for centuries in dream therapy. It helps ground the dreamer while also stimulating the senses. While you dream, it will help lull you into a deeper sleep while enticing your sense of smell as a tether to the waking world." Bruce remarked and sat back.

Almost as if reading the look on Tony's face he spoke up again.

"Don't knock it until you try it, Tony."

“I’m not knocking anything. This is just… a lot,” Tony sighed, giving a little shrug. “I’ll do what I must to get Stephen back. If that means a room full of incense and rocks under my pillow then so be it.”

“You’re really going to some lengths for him, aren’t you?” Loki hummed from the doorway, watching the duo for a moment with a strange smile on his face.

“I’m not going to abandon him. I love him, and I want him to come home,” Tony responded quietly, looking at Bruce and then Loki and Thor, who had poked his head in. “It should be safe, right?”

“It’s not like you can be killed in your dreams. Even a dragon cannot kill you in your dreams,” Loki responded quietly. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t dangers. There are concerns about Stephen, who is in his own plane of existence and can die there… but there’s also damage that can be done to you mentally.”

“How so? What kind of risks are we talking about, and how can I prepare?”

Loki took a deep breath at that and sat on the side of the bed. “I’m glad you’re finally asking. I had a talk with Laufey about all of it while you were keeping yourself closed off. I figured it would eventually come to this but… anyway. Entering the dream dimension through your dreams is not unlike astral projection, and you know the dangers involved with that, right?”

“You’re talking about comas…?”

“Of course. If things go wrong and you are prevented from getting home… you won’t be able to wake up. You’ll stay down. You can’t die through the dream directly but you can become trapped, and your body can waste away without nutrients and care. Bruce has given you tethering options, which should improve your chances of bringing yourself back, but Laufey did also clarify that your bond to a dream dragon does provide you with many benefits. Stephen should be able to send you back himself if needed.”

"Stephen's coming back with me the next time I wake up, I refuse to let him send me home alone. But with two options it nearly foolproof, and it's not like I don't have a little bit of a leg up with the reactor's power," Tony gently tapped the glowing shape on his chest and it gave a soft little buzz in response.

Odd.

"Tony, don't endanger yourself, you have people here that care for you. I know you might think you’re nearly invincible in the dream realm - and you are to an extent," Bruce offered up a little anxiously, "but as I mentioned before, there could be serious consequences."

"Don't worry Bruce, I got this. We both do," Tony cracked a reinvigorated smile at the group, though Bruce still seemed somewhat uneasy.

Loki clapped a hand onto Tony's back and gave it a squeeze.

"You better bring that old man back, I'm counting on him to still teach me what I've yet to learn," Loki started.

"Don't you have Laufey for that? Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of Stephen mentoring you?" Tony regarded the raven-haired drake with an inquisitive look.

"Well yes, but I'd rather inconvenience the lot of you. Plus, Stephen knows things that my old man doesn't, it's not often drakes get to dip their toes into the pools of others. If that old puff-ball of yours is an example, most drakes don't exactly appreciate the company of others not of their own brood," Loki offered logically.

“We’ll check-in in the morning, then…” Thor offered. “To make sure that you’ve awoken appropriately.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony sighed a little to himself, looking at the others thoughtfully. “If you hear weird noises, though, then maybe just assume I’m awake and don’t need checking on,” he smirked a bit.

The group spent a few more hours making plans and having some dinner before Thor and Bruce wished him luck and headed out, leaving Tony and Loki sitting quietly together.

“Are you afraid?”

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to bring him home,” Tony responded softly. “I’m afraid of what it will mean to lose him, permanently. I was so pissed with you when I realized you’d tricked me into summoning, never mind summoning a  _ dragon _ , but… now I honestly can’t imagine the rest of my life without him.”

“You’re not worried that  _ you _ might not come back?” Loki inquired, frowning slightly.

“I trust Stephen,” Tony smiled warmly. “I can’t bring myself to be terribly concerned about the possibility of not coming back. I’m more worried about not being able to bring  _ him _ back…”

The dragon tilted his head for a moment before shrugging and getting to his feet. “Alright. Well, I’ll get going and leave you to it, then. Be safe, Tony. Good luck.”

"Thanks, Loki," Tony smiled and the drake let himself out.

He felt the loneliness start to creep in as soon as Loki had shut the door. Only his bed-side lit the room as he clasped a hand over the dragon's heart delicately and closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath as he inhaled the soft smell of incense.

He'd replaced the burnt-out husk with a new stick, having burned through the last while the others were visiting and he tried to push back the feelings of fear and loneliness to concentrate on mentally preparing himself for the fight ahead.

He pictured Stephen, a point of light in his mind, and Dormammu an ever-present and shifting dark abyss that tried to close out that light. He pictured himself a burning sun, a blaze of fire bright enough to disperse that darkness in his mind and bring his loved one home.

He saw Stephen's light spark, drawing from his own, growing greater - brighter and so much more powerful as he imagined. The darkness bit back with just as much fervour, and he saw Dormammu hampered by this light, struggling to fight, faltering in this premeditated imagining.

"I'll bring you home..." he mumbled quietly and started to drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	19. Chapter 19

“Stephen?”

The voice echoed in the darkness. Shadows moved in his periphery, but any time he turned to look they disappeared. 

He felt a strange warmth at his throat but also in his chest. White lights flashed in the distance and as much as he attempted to move in that direction it felt like he was wading through mud.

The buzz in his chest seemed to increase the more he beckoned to Stephen and the warmth at his neck grew almost impossibly hot. 

Eyes stared through the darkness at him, none of them being Stephen’s familiar, beautiful blues as the mud seemed to rise around him. He wasn’t sure if he was sinking or if the mud was somehow rising, but his chest began to flutter with panic.

“Stephen!” he tried again, closing his eyes and resting his hands around the dragon’s heart at his throat. “Please, I just want to see you… I want to bring you home.”

_ His voice echoed in the void _ .

The vibrations in his chest increased and his eyes opened to watch a rivulet of red mist begin to swirl from him as though emanating from the reactor in his chest. It reminded him of the walls of Centralia in his dreams so many months ago. It was dark, as though flecks of the deepest night laced through it, yet there was an odd glow to it as it spun itself around him in a smokey embrace.

The mud rose like an ocean tide coming in - higher and higher until it threatened to drown him. It was too heavy to kick to the surface and weighed him down, grasping and immobilizing him - and Tony thought he might _ drown.  _

He needed it to be lighter - something easier to get out of - or he’d never find Stephen.

That red light pulsed again through his body, the vibrations softly resonating from within him and he opened his eyes as the mud around him turned to petals - and suddenly, the weight was lifted.

There was an angry bellow that rumbled out and Tony focused on the growl, moving towards the noise, fearless.

"Stephen?" his voice carried into an endless abyss of black, the petals around his chest were all that he could see. "Where are you? Stephen, tell me where you are!" he called out again, wading forward.

_ Searching. _

He took a deep breath, understanding he was lucid, and trying to concentrate on conjuring the image of his beloved in order to get to him.

The petals seemed to swirl around him for a moment as if caught in the whistle of a gale before the light that he had once been seen in the distance suddenly seemed to surround him.

What he expected to see when it all cleared, however, was not what he was confronted with.

The illumination seemed to emanate from a small, sickly-looking white creature in what looked like a birdcage made of barbed wire. A milky blue eye opened to look at him, and the faded colour reminded Tony all too well of blinded animals.

He moved lethargically within the cage, one of his wings dragging behind him as though it might be broken when he shifted slightly to look at Tony.

“You are not safe here,” the dragon stated softly, his gentle voice echoing as if in an enclosed chamber. Tony edged closer to the cage, searching for a way to liberate the dragon within, the drake’s head following him by the sounds of his movements.

“I told you before, I’m bringing you home,” Tony responded, inherently aware that despite the way the dragon looked in his tattered disposition, this was in fact Stephen. He  _ knew _ that voice and had never seen another dragon like Stephen, despite his collage of greys and desaturated colours.

“Tony…”

Soft light glowed from within the cage as though it was reaching out to him, but the moment Tony attempted to reach through the bars, to touch Stephen and provide reassurance, the barbs of the cage immediately lashed out, lacerating his forearm and leaving the dragon to emit an exhausted but alarmed sound.

“Do not touch the cage. There are no doors, no way in or out,. I have burned through the reserves of my magic… I may be able to send you home, but even that I doubt…”

" _ Not without you _ ," Tony grunted. His arms stung, but he was resilient.

It broke his heart to see Stephen so subjugated, so broken and hurt. He wasn't going to let him down, he simply couldn't! 

It wasn't an option.

Stephen brayed weakly, gaze fixed on the blood running down Tony's arm. 

The sight was sickening, but Tony knew that this was all an illusion -  _ smoke and mirrors _ . 

This was _ his  _ mind, this was  _ his _ dream -  _ his nightmare _ \- and he was going to damn well take the reins of it.

Ignoring the sensation of stinging pain, he reached forward and grabbed a hold of the barbed wire with both hands and began to tug it outwards.

His hands bled, in what seemed like torrents or waterfalls as he grasped the bars of the cage. It burned and Stephen looked on in horror as he watched his summoner lacerated repeatedly.

The pain burned like a fire in his blood and he screamed but refused to let go, shutting his eyes against the sight and pain. He thought he would pass out from the agony as he clenched his eyes shut.

His arms went numb and soon enough Tony couldn't feel the pain anymore. 

Everything went cool and as he dared to peak his eyes open to see his condition, his wounds had healed and at that moment the cage shattered into shards of obsidian around Stephen, and Tony rushed forward to him without a second thought.

Stephen responded with exhaustion. His lethargy was clear despite that his good wing raised as he curled himself as much around Tony as he was able to. The summoner’s arms wrapped around the small, frail creature in return. It felt like each and every bone was prominent under his fingers and the dragon was clearly unwell, small enough that Tony could carry him with relative ease.

“We should leave,” the dragon suggested quietly.

“You did not expect I would make it that easy, did you?” a deep voice thrummed around them and Dormammu’s deep purple eyes blinked open in the darkness. Tony had no idea how he’d arrived, or when, but he knew why he had.

“This is  _ my _ dream, I’m the one in control here,” Tony retorted as he brought the small dragon in closer to his chest.

“Are you certain about that?” the large dragon responded with a toothy grin.

Tony felt his assurance waver for a moment before Stephen’s head nudged under his chin with a reassuring grumble. He held the dragon more tightly to him and gave Dormammu a smirk in return.

“Oh, I’m completely sure. My dream, my dream dragon, my control. You have a problem with that?”

“Several problems. You had no capacity to kill me in your own realm, what makes you think you will fare any better here,  _ alone? _ ”

“I’m not alone and you can’t fool me - of course I had no way of killing you in my realm, it’s not  _ your _ home realm. But your heart isn’t in my realm, safe and protected anymore. Your heart is here. You and your heart are on the exact same plane of existence. That makes you considerably more vulnerable than you were in my realm. Still feeling tough, big guy?”

Those piercing eyes narrowed and Tony could feel the hate and anger radiating off of him, even just at the sight of holding Stephen. 

It was a perversion beyond any he could ever imagine, hate and malice which could not be sated by any form of vengeance dripped from the beast that peered back at him.

He stood unwavering under the nightmare beast's threats, waiting for the dragon to unleash his worst.

The ashen drake bellowed and opened his maw, and Tony saw the glowing crimson energy of a flare building in his throat, ready to be hurled in his direction. 

His fingers curled around Stephen in preparation, and at that moment he felt the cloak around his shoulders as the deep red fire was sent in a heavy plume towards them.

It engulfed them entirely and the cloak held taught, and Tony felt the heat. Just as much as it burned, however, it cooled and he felt Stephen's broken form relax in his hold as the flames turned serene and relaxing. 

A red aura began to radiate from him, and as he turned the nightmare drake's anger back on him, he threw a hand out and turned the beast's fire right back in his direction. 

Rather than crimson flames, there was light, and it engulfed Dormammu, scales beginning to burn away.

The light from the flames emitted no heat, but more of a soothing aura, a sense of completeness as it singed and purified the nightmare. 

It tore through the perversion of the dragons miasma and ripped a hole in the darkness right to the drake's heart. Spectrums of colours flashed and spewed from the impact point as they funnelled into the dark dragon's heart hidden behind his pitch dark scales and splashed him with torrents of raw, pure energy.

Stephen cracked an eye at the display, muscles relaxing, wings curling and nudging his face closer into the nook of Tony's neck as if basking in the radiant energy he was expelling.

The summoner wasn’t exactly certain what to expect from what he was doing. 

Despite what Dormammu thought - and even despite what he had thought himself at points - he didn’t want to see the dragon dead. Dormammu and Stephen had been close, once, and imagining that Dormammu had once been like Stephen made it challenging to imagine actually killing the massive dragon.

He wanted to purge the darkness, the anger and fury and grief, from the dragon. 

He wanted to give Dormammu a second chance at life. The chance he was certain Dormammu’s summoner would have wanted for him.

He couldn’t help but see hints of what the dragon was once to others, and those hints became steadily clearer as the light sloughed away some of the dark scales and the malicious aura the dragon surrounded himself with. The dragon in question seemed startled even as Stephen remained cuddled in against him. 

Black wings spread out and as they did, deep purple feathers seemed to sprout from them, catching the light and turning almost black when they were tucked into the shadow again. Over his chest a shock of bright red feathers spread in an inverted tear shape and the rest of his body became covered in dark feathers that Tony wasn’t certain as to the colours of - purple? Blue? Black? - before the purple feathers came to a crest over the dragon’s head again.

The dragon took a few uncertain steps back, sitting back on his haunches and spreading his wings for a few moments to take in his own appearance before fixing his eyes on Tony again, uncertain and seeming to be reconsidering his situation -  _ fearful almost. _

“What… have you done?” the dragon inquired, his words uncharacteristically quiet.

“Hopefully, I’ve given you the chance for a fresh start. It’s up to you whether or not you take it,” Tony responded, holding Stephen against his chest as the light began to fade, leaving the darker dragon to ruffle his feathers in his spot in unease.

“This does not bring her back… I have not forgotten what happened.”

“Those aren’t my memories to rid you of. But surely the memories you had of her have some happiness that’s worth remembering. You deserve to remember loving her. It’s the corruption that ate at your heart that was the problem.”

The other dream drake peered back at Tony and he could feel the weight of the dragon’s gaze as he looked at the two, summoner and dragon reunited and his own ears flattened while his bright purple eyes seemed to hold so much sadness in them.

Tony couldn't detect any rage within the drake rather, despair. Even with some hint of fear in the beast's eyes as the veil of the nightmare began to slowly dissolve around him and the light of the dream started to penetrate the thick guise of shadows.

He tried to summon  _ his _ shadows,  _ his _ lost,  _ his _ minions, but as they appeared, and they dissolved just as the nightmare had, evaporating back into dream sprites and souls that were once captive - now became free of his servitude.

The drake's head darted from side-to-side as Tony tentatively reached out and the purple dragon took a step back, flaring his crest as its eyes flicked between Stephen and his summoner.

"You have a chance to start over… don't let your sadness lead you down the same path again. Things have changed, things are different now and what happened to your summoner is decades past now..."

"Easy and simple words from one who has not known true loss," Dormammu responded lowly. He flicked his tail in agitation and Stephen turned his head.

"Taking from others will not sate your own loss," Stephen managed to crow out weakly, shifting around in Tony's arms to look over in the purple drake's direction.

Dormammu shrank a bit in his spot, literally. The weight of his own emotions starting to overcome him as he was put on the spot in front of the two people he'd tried to target relentlessly and sabotage.

“Stephen…”

“I am returning home with my summoner now. You must learn to exist on your own once again.”

“But this is your home,” Dormammu grumbled, his feathers laying back as he looked at them. “The dream realm has always been your home.”

“You made it my prison. My home is where my heart belongs, and Tony does not belong here,” Stephen responded, turning his head away to press it against Tony’s chest in a thoroughly familiar way, and Tony bowed his head to nuzzle Stephen’s feathers softly.

“Use this second chance wisely. Use this the way she would have wanted you to, which I can only guess would be, you know, not destroying the world she lived in,” Tony shrugged a little bit as he held his summon close. “It’s time to wake up now, Stephen…”

He felt the haze swell around him, as though it had wrapped around his brain and held on tightly. His body began to wake, and his eyes slowly opened to the smell of incense and the pain of something - a rock - pressing against his head through his pillow. More importantly, however, he felt a warmth on his chest.

His fingers pressed into feathers and he felt the softest of rumblings under his fingers before he opened his eyes to see the dulled, milky blue eyes of his summon looking back at him. His chin rested against Tony’s reactor as the dragon watched him, his ears up, but his features still drained of colour.

“Good morning, silva.”

“Good morning, Stephen.”

Tony ran his hands gently over those ears, curling his hands around them without squeezing, gently stroking upwards in the direction of the feathers. He stroked over the beast's body lengthwise a few times before his arms settled around the small drake's prone form.

"You never stopped believing in me," Stephen mumbled softly, though strained and drained of all energy of his voice.

"Never. And you never stopped believing in me..." Tony added softly running his fingers lengthwise down the dragons frills. "Just rest now, we won, Dormammu is free of the clutches of the nightmare and now so are you," he soothed gently as he continued to coddle and care for the weakened summon in his arms. 

"I'm sure he will find his peace now," Tony mumbled softly. 

He appreciated every second of this moment. He'd brought his love back from the brink of death, and now all he wanted to do was tend to and care for him.

"I sense the heart within you..." Stephen mumbled softly with the weakest voice.

"The what?" Tony tilted his head sleepily.

"The heart… it is with you. You took back a part of Centralia with you," Stephen closed his eyes and tucked his face back into the spot between Tony's neck.

"The heart of Gaia..." Tony mumbled, but Stephen had already fallen asleep, curling into his summoner as he did.

He did his best not to disrupt the dragon, knowing well what those pale feathers meant. His fingers continued to run through Stephen’s feathers as he watched the sleeping dragon with adoration and relief bubbling in his chest before he noticed something else.

A soft red light seemed to be reflecting through his shirt off of the sleeping drake’s pale feathers, giving him a patch of pink-looking feathers where Tony knew it should have been blue. His reactor had a blue glow, after all, and there was nothing he knew of that should have caused the colour to shift.

Tony carefully adjusted his shirt to peek down into it, finding a warm red glow radiating from his reactor and no sign of the blue from before. There was something familiar about the red colour, and Stephen’s comment struck him then, leaving him curious.

It had been blue earlier, he was almost certain, but he knew better than to mess with it now. Stephen was practically asleep on it, and he didn’t want to disturb the fatigued dragon. Resting back against his pillows and pulling the rock out from under it to set on his bedside, Tony ran his fingers over Stephen’s feathers once again and closed his eyes.

The brunette was content to sit there with his summon, every so often Stephen moved to shift around and he gave his position a little more thought.

He had questions he wanted answers to, but nothing pressing. There were other more important things to keep in mind while Stephen was still recovering - such as his own health for example.

Tony had a habit of paying less attention to his own needs during these recovery periods with Stephen and he'd hardly noticed the growling in his stomach when it became a little too loud to ignore.

He didn't want to move, but at the same time, he needed to eat to make sure he was consistently giving his best to Stephen during his rehabilitation. 

His stomach gave another angry gurgle and the drake on his chest cracked an eye, grumbling quietly about getting food and Tony sighed, soothing Stephen with the tips of his fingers then giving in and going to the kitchen to grab anything quick and easy to make.

"Shh, go back to sleep," he whispered, and Stephen grumbled again.

"Hard to do when your stomach is making such a racket," Stephen responded hoarsely, and Tony shook his head.

“Well, why do you figure I’m up?” the summoner said, looking down at the dragon in his arms.

“What are you making?”

“Bacon and eggs.” Tony didn’t trust himself to make anything more complex at that point, especially not with a dragon in one arm. 

He was tired and if cereal provided enough calories he would’ve gone with that, but he knew Stephen enjoyed bacon, too. The way Stephen’s ears perked up in response to the word ‘bacon’ was proof that that hadn’t changed, and the dragon rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder to watch him cook.

“Do I get bacon, too?” Stephen inquired after a moment, his tail wiggling weakly in its spot.

“Of course you do. What kind of jerk do you think I am?” Tony chuckled softly, laying the bacon out in the frying pan with his free hand before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Stephen’s head. “We should both eat to help get your health in better order.”

The brunette had two frying pans going, a pair of kitchen tongs in one hand as he flipped the bacon in one pan, and switched to a spatula to rotate the eggs on the second as he held Stephen.

He managed to put a few slices of bread into the toaster while he juggled the rest of the meal, keeping an eye on everything until he'd finished.

It all came together as a few eggs, an entire pack of bacon and four slices of toast. With the dragon in his arms, he somehow managed to maneuver buttering the bread and then putting the entire helping of food onto a large platter and moving over to the couch.

"I hope you brought your appetite," Tony joked softly and the pale dragon in his arms moved restlessly and let out a soft bray in response.

He loaded up a plate for the both of them, a layered sandwich on one piece of toast for each of them, reaching over to feed Stephen first.

The drake accepted the offering, gingerly scarfing it down as Tony offered him bites and slowly fed him.

“Not too fast, I don’t want you to get sick,” the summoner warned softly, though Stephen showed no signs of slowing down, giving Tony a disgruntled grumble at his words. 

“Should we have a nice bath after? Bruce, Thor and the others have been clear that they’re going to come to check on us this morning at some point... we can get you nice and cleaned up, bundle you up… make you a cute little dragon burrito.”

Stephen finished snapping up the last of his sandwich before sitting back and giving Tony an uneasy look. “I am not certain I am ready for company,” he murmured softly, nestling his head under Tony’s arm.

“No?”

“I am exhausted. Loki and Thor both are very high energy individuals and Thor, in particular, can be very… loud. I am not certain I am prepared for that kind of excitement, yet…”

“Are you okay?” Tony set his own sandwich down and combed his fingers through Stephen’s feathers, frowning a little in concern. “I mean, I guess I got caught up so much in thinking that you’d be happy to be home that I didn’t really consider that there might be other lasting effects, apart from you needing to take some time and rest to recover… but you really went through the wringer in there… should I be trying to find someone who can help you recover in… other ways?”

“I just need to rest for now,” Stephen responded, shaking his head and shifting his head to press against Tony’s reactor. “I do not have the energy to handle too many people at the moment.”

“Alright. I’ll just assure them that things are okay and then send them on their way, then. Is this a no to a bath, too?”

“... a bath might be nice.”

Tony lifted the small dragon in one arm, he had to put him down on the ground at one point, setting him on a pile of towels which he got the most minuscule of protests for as he went to run the water and grab some bath salts and special lotions.

"Oh shush, you. You can handle being put down for a single moment," he teased and Stephen just cracked an eye and did his best attempt at flaring his patchy feathers out to show his disdain, whistling pathetically.

Tony frowned, hands on his hips as he stood in front of Stephen. 

"Just a second!" 

He turned to the basin and used the same spell Stephen used to heat the massive pool of water, surprised by how far he'd come in sharing and mimicking the drakes abilities.

The pool was the perfect temperature in seconds, and he peered over to the small beast with a smile.

The drake looked up at him expectantly and Tony made quick work of shedding his clothing before he leaned down and scooped the near-weightless drake up in his arms and slowly slid into the water.

He took a seat in the shallows of the pool up to his neck, leaning against the side of the massive basin and propping Stephen's head up and over his shoulder so the drake's body was submerged in the warm water.

He was rewarded with a soft churr of content from his companion as he reached over to grab the salts and soap and began to gently lather and run his fingers through the white and pale blue quills.

The dragon relaxed in his spot, stretching out his wings a little in the water and cuddling in against Tony as the summoner carefully washed through the dragon’s feathers. It was quiet in the room for a few minutes, besides the splashing of water and the soft purrs of the dragon.

“Your reactor…” the silence was finally broken as the dragon spoke not seeming to mind as Tony rolled him onto his back in his arms, beginning to wash his stomach. “... it is different.”

“Yeah… that’s new. I’m not really sure what’s up with that. I don’t feel any different, though, it’s just a colour change, I think.”

“It feels different to me,” Stephen responded, nestling his head against Tony’s arm and moving his wings to make it easier for Tony to wash them. “The energy is different. Strong, but different.”

“What do you mean,  _ different _ ?” Tony frowned a little. “That thing keeps my heart running, should I be concerned? You seem less than worried.”

“I do not think there is cause for concern. It is not bad, simply different,” Stephen assured with a soft croon.

“That’s… really not helpful,” the summoner groaned a little, rinsing Stephen’s wing and bundling him up against his chest again.

“On the plus side, at least you’re clean now. Think you can wait a minute on the towels while I clean up a bit? I’ll be quick.”

Stephen gave a grumble as he cuddled up onto the towels outside the tub, rolling a little to curl himself up in the towels properly, his feathers ruffling as he attempted to dry himself off.

"You mentioned something before… the heart," Tony inquired softly, he had half an understanding of his situation but if anyone were to know more about it, it would be Stephen.

"Back in Centralia… I passed out, and I don't know why, but I have felt something different about me, something empowering. I can't quite explain it but it's like I'm connected, much more attached to the source of magic," Tony mumbled quietly, stroking his fingers through Stephen's feathers.

"I've been able to do things I normally never expected having the capabilities to do so… like borrowed energy, but that energy never really left," Tony mumbled softly to his companion and Stephen simply prodded into his reactor.

"It feels like the earth… it speaks, almost sentient… but if it had anything to do with the heart, then maybe it was looking just as much to solve the sickness of this world as you had..." Stephen mumbled quietly.

"Mother Gaia is forgiving… she seeks naught but to nurture her children," Stephen continued gently.

" _ Mother Gaia _ ?" Tony tilted his head to the side.

"She is with you. Her branches span to all realms, yours is but one. Her force is that of equilibrium, and it seeks to balance itself above all else," he clarified, nestling into his towel nest. "Her heart is within Centralia, and you."

“... you were talking about the heart of Gaia before, weren’t you?”

“I may have mentioned it. You saw it for yourself first-hand in Centralia, and at times you saw it in your nightmares as well. With that in mind… its colour is very similar to your reactor right now,” Stephen hummed softly from his spot, resting his chin on the rim of the tub to watch Tony as he finished cleaning up. “It is known to be capable of many things, such as changing the fabric of reality itself. It is what I spoke of a while ago when I said there may be something to sever our connection.”

“I would really love if we could never talk about that again,” Tony grumbled a little, rinsing himself off and climbing out of the bath.

“It may be how you were able to revert Dormammu to the state you left him in,” Stephen responded. “I meant to ask you about that.”

“I figured it was just… _ dream logic?” _

“You cannot simply change the fabric of our beings because of dreams, or you would have been able to make me healthy again. It is not so simple as that.”

“... I guess that makes sense. So you think this was something to do with the heart of Gaia, huh?”

“I am almost certain of it, in hindsight. But moreover, what made you decide to spare Dormammu after everything that happened?” the dragon inquired as Tony put a housecoat on and gathered the bundled up dragon into his arms.

"I saw someone who was scared, who'd been put through nearly a lifetime of turmoil and more. Dormammu was a victim of circumstance, and I thought about what I would do if I was in his position - maybe not turn to such extremes but when I'd lost you to him, those felt like really dark times... but I had friends to turn to," Tony stopped for a moment to think.

"I can't imagine what he was going through with all of what happened, and then to be so completely alone," Tony murmured quietly, lifting Stephen over his shoulder and bringing him over to the sofa.

He sat down, in nothing but a housecoat and used another to start towelling Stephen off and smoothing out his feathers with his fingers. "He was weak and he turned to what he thought was the answer, but in the end, it just kept eating away at him." Stephen lifted his jaw so Tony could dry off the soft quills on his neck, flaring his wings out, seeming a little more lively now that he'd been basking and washed up.

"It seems our mother favours that method of correcting her children. We are all her children in the end." Stephen leaned down and pecked at his reactor lightly. "Though I imagine we should return this to her now that you have helped her carry out her will. As trustworthy as you are with it, the heart is no one’s property." 

Stephen cracked his eyes and they seemed to have been restored back to more of their natural colour.

“Can’t we use it to fix your heart first…?” Tony inquired, his hand moving to the stone against his throat, feeling the ridges and cracks in it as his fingers ran over it.

“Tony, you may ask more of her than-”

“You call her a mother,” Tony interrupted, “you talk about her correcting her children, but she didn’t  _ protect you _ like a mother should, either. My mother was never very good about protecting me, either, but when she did fail at that she was always there to help me heal and get my shit in order… and you need help. I don’t know a lot about all of this, but the damage here… it worries me. Fixing broken stone is… well, it’s a whole issue.”

The dragon tilted his head a little at that before nestling in against Tony further. “You mistake the difference between a mother of creation and the role of a human mother, my summoner. They are not the same and do not abide by the same principles.”

Tony looked sombre after hearing that. "Does this mean you won't ever be able to reach your full potential again, you won't be able to fully recover?"

"No, my silva, my powers are slowly returning to me and I am recovering overall. The state of the heart may well in time. Do not worry, give me another day and I should have enough strength to port us to Centralia again," Stephen whistled softly and nodded his head, flicking his ears reassuringly.

"I can get us there," Tony offered quietly, "if you're not well enough. I don't think Dormammu has any more influence over the shattered forest. We won't need to worry about fending off any Lost or monsters. I'm actually curious to see the forest in all its splendour now that the corruption has been purged.”

"Though the corruption is gone, Centralia's magical energy is still overwhelming for those not resilient enough." 

The summoner ran his hand over Stephen's crest, leaning down to place a gentle kiss over the red mark over his head. "You know I have no problem with it, and the magic hardly affects you. I'm more than confident we'll be fine." 

Tony smiled. He was most hopeful that the heart might be able to mend Stephen's, though at the same time kept the dragon's words in mind.

He didn’t have the time to get dressed before Thor came knocking and, despite his original intentions of sending him and Bruce away, they had brought further snacks. The visit was particularly quiet, for Stephen’s sake, but the dragon seemed content to snack on whatever foods were presented to him without protest.

* * *

A week passed before Stephen seemed well enough to make the venture to Centralia, in which time they had several discussions about the possibilities regarding fixing Stephen’s heart. As it showed no signs of improving on its own Tony eventually recommended a touch of technomancy - using some of the gold Stephen had accumulated to seal the cracks in the heart and then enchanting it to seal it all together. 

Gold was the easiest metal for technomancers to work with and often worked best as living metal, and Stephen’s heart was not a simple rock so much as a living stone. Stephen and Loki both believed it would work, and Professor Pym agreed that the theory was sound despite his lack of knowledge about the unique properties of a dragon’s heart. So the plans were made for that to take place only a few days later.

In the meantime, they needed to fix Tony’s heart - and the heart of Gaia.

“It’s so much less ominous here now,” Tony admitted as he looked around the shattered forest, seeing people milling around in the distance taking readings and otherwise studying the area in the aftermath.

“I imagine the lack of moving shadows helps with that, but it is indeed a very different atmosphere,” Stephen responded. His colours were showing again, though under the light of the crystal trees his colours seemed to change a little here and there.

He hadn’t returned to his full size as of yet, but Tony expected it had a lot to do with conserving his energy while he recovered. That didn’t mean he wasn’t considerably larger than when he’d been rescued from the nightmare - he was nearly the size of a horse.

Stephen reverted to his human guise as they approached the temple itself, for the sake of walking hand-in-hand with Tony through the darkened tunnels.

The latent energy in the area seemed to infuse and bolster him further as if the magic he was using was borrowed and allowed him to effortlessly shift in form. 

Stephen gently squeezed Tony's hand and the two of them had a quiet, comfortable trek down into the chamber of the heart. The place looked starkly different without the influence of Dormammu's minions tarnishing the chamber and had a much more divine aura to it without the corrupt stench of death lingering.

Halls decorated in stone-etched runes, carvings that would have been lost by red-black veiny vines were now clearly evident in the walls of the temple as they should be.

The place was a monument, an offering to the world herself and the heart that was mean to reside there.

"So why didn't Dormammu just take the heart for himself rather than infecting the temple itself…?" Tony added quietly.

"Well, aside from her temple being the convergence of all reality and leylines, the heart is not so easily taken - which surprised me when it had taken to you," Stephen paused, squeezing Tony's hand. "She gives her heart to those she trusts, and I am assuming she must have put a lot of faith in you."

The temple was clearly damaged, and while it was now brightly lit by the central crystal it was also clear that there were going to be some challenges to reaching the tree that had housed the heart of Gaia on foot. Stephen gave a long hum at that, inspecting the area around them and peering at the broken stone where Dormammu had broken through their shield by destroying the ground beneath them.

The blood where Stephen had been left injured still stained some of the ground all these months later, and Tony had to wonder if those restoring the area had purposefully avoided this place. He squeezed Stephen’s hand a bit tightly at the memory, only realizing he’d done so when Stephen hissed slightly in pain.

Tony released Stephen’s hand swiftly at that.

“I’m so sorry! I just-”

“It is okay, I understand,” Stephen responded soothingly, leaning to kiss his cheek and refusing to release Tony’s hand, instead drawing him in closer. “We need to reach the tree to return her heart to her. We can either fly or attempt a very precarious climb along what remains of the ledge over there…” he gestured with his free hand to the remains of the ledge.

“To be honest, there’s only  _ one _ way I want to ride you today, and it doesn’t involve you flying,” Tony chimed, attempting to clear his head of the memories he’d rather not have.

“Hmm, that could be arranged,” Stephen purred lowly, and Tony snagged his ear to drag him in for a proper, albeit short, kiss.

“Good,” he muttered against Stephen’s lips, nudging his nose against Stephen’s for a brief moment before releasing his ear again and watching them lay back against the top of Stephen’s head in contentment.

“So… a precarious climb, then?” the dragon inquired, giving Tony’s hand another gentle squeeze before leading him towards the ledge.

“That seems to be the plan. If I fall, I’m relying on you to catch me.”

There were a couple of times where Tony had nearly lost his footing, Stephen insisting on going first just in case so he could both catch Tony on the way down, or on the way up should he fall.

"Thank goodness we can honestly just portal out of this place once we are done," Tony groaned, arms nearly spent from overexerting them through grappling up the side of the walls. He'd had to use magic at some point and silently cursed under his breath about Dormammu having sapped all of Stephen's magic for this one ordeal.

Stephen's ears flattened as a few stones kicked down onto him. Thankfully due to the drake's lack of weight, he had much less trouble scaling the walls with his hands and obstacles of the heart chamber than Tony.

A few short scares and heart-stops later and they'd managed their way across.

They both stood in front of the dais of the pillar, waiting for something to happen. The summoner looked at his companion and Stephen recommended patience before the reactor in the center of his chest began to glow red and a stream of red liquid began to seep out from the point of light.

It floated - a sentient, viscous liquid from his chest before settling on the dais in a solid stone form.

There was a soft glow that settled around Tony, and the heart on his neck vibrated soothingly before it went cooler and stopped glowing.

Stephen took in a deep breath, seemingly renewed as he turned to Tony and smiled.

"Is that it then?" the brunette questioned.

“That seems to be it,” Stephen nodded, tugging Tony in to give him a hug, though a hand rested over the reactor carefully. “You feel wholly and entirely yourself again. Shall we go home, now?”

“Please, let’s. We still need to sort through what pieces of gold you think you can part with to repair your heart.”

“... I was thinking something more along the lines of that ride you were talking about,” Stephen teased a little as he opened up a portal back to their apartment.

“We could do both. Simultaneously. Sex on a pile of gold seems right up your alley,” the summoner responded with a little smirk.

“We could arrange something like that. I will have to adjust your jewelry as well. If that is what we shall use to repair the heart, then we ought to adjust some of your jewelry to match.”

“You’ve given me some gold things already,” Tony pointed out as he led them through the portal and into Stephen’s treasure room. “So it’ll only be a matter of exchanging some of my jewelry.”

“Who said anything about exchanging? You may keep the other jewelry. You will simply require more gold to go along with things. Perhaps I should change the silver setting for my heart as well…”

“You know, in human culture gold is often linked to weddings…” the summoner hummed. “Are you planning on keeping me forever?”

“I should hope I have made that clear already,” the drake responded, gathering him up as the portal closed behind them and carrying him towards his pile of gold. “I am never letting you go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the main story! A short epilogue chapter will be up around the same time next week with a little glimpse into their future.
> 
> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	20. Chapter 20

“Untie me!”

“Untie yourself.”

“I can’t,” the dragon grumbled in his spot, wriggling in his red bindings. He snuffed a bit and stared at his smug summoner.

“Can you really not get out, or are you trying to stroke my ego?”

“Now isn’t exactly the time to be stroking your ego, silva, we have class in an hour and you still haven’t gotten all your materials together. Now please, untie me!”

“I like it when you ask nicely,” Tony grinned a bit watching the dragon struggle for a few more moments before reaching out towards the bared pads of Stephen’s paw.

“Don’t you dare!” the dragon yelped.

He curled his feet up and wiggled a little more frantically to try and escape being tickled. Tony chuckled and dispelled the bindings holding Stephen, watching him quickly roll onto his feet and shake himself out, giving Tony a headbutt that nearly knocked him on his ass. 

“You are such a pain in the ass sometimes.”

“You’ve never complained about it before,” the summoner smirked, turning away to start gathering up his teaching materials.

A few decades ago he would never have expected to be where he was today. When Nick Fury took over as the Headmaster of the University of Dalaar, however, Tony had received a call from the man to ask him to take over as the Professor of Conjuration. 

_ That was six years ago. _

It had been hard to say goodbye to the life he and Stephen had built together over the three decades prior. They’d spent years touring the world to raise awareness about dragons in an attempt to change preconceptions about them in the aftermath of everything that had happened. They could only do so much, however, and teaching was just as worthy a cause.

They were able to manage some destigmatization of dragons in their time abroad, but when it came to conjuration there was something else entirely. After the years of people being uncertain around him at best, seeing the young students excited to see and speak to Stephen and Stephen’s surprise and shy delight at their attention warmed Tony’s heart considerably.

It was the beginning of a new year, and Stephen was more excited about the school year starting than Tony was. 

Tony already missed the long sessions of lounging in bed in the mornings, wasting away the day running his fingers over Stephen’s feathers and cuddling with his lover. He already missed the late nights spent with old friends, Loki and Stephen bickering into all hours about nothing important, and the nights he spent alone with Stephen, lavishing one another in love.

He already missed them. And it was only Monday morning.

Tony's class was proving to show a great deal of promise even through the beginning of the semester.

Tony enjoyed teaching, despite his affinity for the technological side of things. He ended up finding his passion for teaching conjuration with his companion and had stuck with it ever since.

Where once he found himself under the scrutinous eye of Fury, he was now in the position of being passed the torch and teaching those around him under the new and quite flexible curriculum.

The class was laden with talent and those that were capable of expanding their reach beyond just the traditional studies showed great promise, and it was even a landmark given that education nowadays was expanding into an entirely new depth.

Stephen and Tony had both mentored them closely, helping to hone their abilities and their connections, and it often brought a smile to Tony at the comparison between how he was now and what he once was. It was a stark comparison with some of his pupils, who were going through exactly what he had to deal with when breaking into his comfortable space with his drake.

In some ways, he’d seen himself in them and while Tony helped with mentoring the summoners, Stephen helped with his dragonkin - and then, they would switch, helping either side to comprehend their natures and relationships with both summoner and summon alike.

Though, it came as a surprise to Tony when he was notified of a transfer student from a neighbouring academy.

It wasn't often they had students transfer at the start of the semester, but due to this very specific circumstance revolving around the student, it was allowed, and Tony found himself with one extra talent in his class who he had no idea how to gauge.

Kaecilius was his name. 

Neither Tony nor any of his students had heard or knew anything about him but he was quiet and reserved. He was a little older than most of his other students, already in his early thirties, but over the months he proved himself to be bright.

Perhaps it was his age that kept him focused. Tony knew how strange it could be to interact with those who were of different ages, but when Kaecilius seemed to remain silent and antisocial, Tony couldn’t help but make efforts to try and help him remedy the situation.

It would have been one thing if the man had simply not spoken to anyone in the class but Stephen reported in that there was no news of him speaking to anyone other than faculty and staff - nothing social. He seemed to be isolating himself, which gave the professor plenty of cause for concern.

“I’m thinking about pairing him up with somebody in class for a project…” Tony informed his partner as he looked over his lesson plan one night, running a hand into his hair in thought.

“I don’t recall you having group projects before,” Stephen hummed, rolling over on the bed to look at him, his tail flicking back and forth as the dragon-in-human-guise watched him intently. “You’re growing meddlesome in your old age.”

“Don’t make it like that,” Tony grumbled at him, getting up and crawling onto the bed over his sprawled partner. He pressed a couple of gentle kisses over Stephen’s collarbone and sighed. “And stop being so tempting over here, don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing…”

“What am I doing? It’s not my fault if you’re so easily distracted,” Stephen chuckled slightly, wrapping his arms around Tony and pulling him in close. “You should be focused on helping your student. Who did you have in mind to pair him with?”

"In the event of a crash or sinking ship, they do say to help yourself first," Tony smirked and ran his fingers over Stephen's chest and the dragon's toes seemed to curl under the stimulation as he tilted his head towards the drake.

"I don't know if pairing Kaecilius up will do much to help him," Stephen let out a deep breath, curling his tail around Tony who in turn leaned down so he could recline and wrap his arms around his partner’s chest.

"I sense great loss in this one, perhaps exposure isn't what he needs, quite often time is the only remedy that will cure such ailments." The drake's ears flattened some and Tony reached over to grab his face. "We may speak with him individually, but overall, give him time." Stephen nudged his face into Tony's neck and the summoner nodded softly, wrapping his arms around his head affectionately.

"I guess there's a reason why he's an intermediate transferring to my classes now," Tony sighed, thinking on the reasons why Kaecilius was the way that he was.

"Regardless, I sense great potential in him. He is but adrift in his own chrysalis, waiting to emerge and bloom, to show his true colours." Stephen hummed, tail swaying slowly in thought.

“Still, you say time but it’s been months… he’s supposed to be summoning soon. I can’t get a good feel for what he’s like when he doesn’t interact with others, and if he wants a recommendation for summoning I can’t very well give him one. His whole personality is ‘silent student’ and it’s weird,” Tony grumbled running his fingers into Stephen’s hair and brushing the dragon’s ears back.

“Why not Lucien, then?” Stephen suggested quietly, his fingers tracing over Tony’s sides thoughtfully. “He’s respectful, quiet… I imagine he won’t be overwhelming for Kaecilius to work with.”

“I was going to pair Lucien with Peter to try and help settle the kid down,” the professor responded, tilting his head to press a kiss to Stephen’s temple before shrugging. “I suppose Peter can work with Ned, instead.”

“See? Easy fix,” the dragon smiled. “Now, if that’s dealt with… can I tempt you into doing something more indecent with your time?” he purred a little, hooking a leg up over Tony’s hip and leaving the summoner to chuckle, sitting up some to look down at him.

“You always tempt me to do more indecent things with my time. But I still have to finish preparing the lesson for tomorrow.”

“When did you get so boring?” Stephen whined softly as Tony kissed his ankle and carefully deposited it back on the bed, before shuffling back over to his desk.

“When I turned 50,” Tony retorted, settling himself into his chair and getting back to work. “Old age does that.”

“That’s the excuse you want to use when talking to an ancient dragon? Because you don’t look a day over thirty.”

“Isn’t it past your bedtime, old man?” Tony shot back over his shoulder and was met with the slightest of glares from Stephen.

“You watch yourself, silva. I know where you sleep.”

* * *

In the beginning, pairing Kaecilius with another student had not revealed more about him. It was difficult for Tony to get a read on the man, even with Lucien providing more inside information about their unique interactions in class.

It took time. While most students were breaking into their first summons - and for more skilled and determined students, their second prior to the official summoning ceremony - Kaecilius hadn't even let on that he'd broken any sort of ground. It prompted Tony to wonder if the man would even summon at all given his situation.

Summoning wasn't for everyone, and even he had turned his nose up at it before Stephen.

But, well - look at him now.

Kaecilius always seemed to be waiting as if he has a sense of things neither the teacher or his dragon summon had. Lucien continued to shadow him and at least later on reported that the student had an excellent and advanced understanding of summoning - but often spoke that the student's mental abilities were blocked by an unknown source which Kaecilius continued concede to.

Perhaps Kaecilius's mental duress was so immeasurable the man had literally inadvertently spelled himself into a null state where he couldn't summon at all? It would seem a bit dramatic to assume but anything could have been possible, and it was among a few of Stephen's speculations regarding the man.

It came to pass that mid-year the silver-haired silent pupil still hadn't made any progress despite the professor's teachings. Not only that but at the same time other problems were cropping up, such as unrest among some of the more ambitious students regarding an age-old limitation.

Time and time again there were talks, questions, private meetings with Tony about the ability to summon dragons. While the restriction on the matter hadn't _ entirely _ been lifted, there were regulations and interviews that went on to determine whether a candidate was responsible enough to summon a dragon - or any number of other ‘restricted’ summons which was an entirely separate can of worms.

Over the years, Tony had three students who were dragon summoners who had graduated, and another two in different years who were currently summoners of dragons, but one day when Tony was especially drenched in grading papers and dealing with constant meetings that his seemingly favourite student had finally come out of his shell, visiting him unprompted at his office for dialogue about some personal concerns.

Of course, this surprised both Stephen and Tony.

“I want to summon a dragon.”

“Pardon?” Tony gave the silver-haired man a surprised look, even as Stephen tilted his head.

“I haven’t summoned anything else. I don’t want a small army of summons. I’d like to summon a dragon,” Kaecilius clarified as he sat across from Tony, his face fixed in determination.

“What’s bringing this up all of a sudden? Talk me through this,” Tony responded, shifting in his seat to give the man all of his attention.

“This isn’t sudden. I’ve been doing my research, I’ve been pointedly not summoning anything else because I know full well how possessive dragons can be about their summoners. I know the responsibility, and I accept it, and all the changes that could eventually mean for me and my body…” the man seemed solemn and certain as he watched Tony, not even glancing at Stephen as he spoke.

“Why a dragon, rather than anything else?” Tony inquired, fixing his gaze on Kaecilius.

“Because… he’s waiting,” the student responded. “He’s been waiting for a long time…”

For a moment the room was silent as Tony and Stephen waited for Kaecilius to elaborate. Finally, after a moment of fidgeting, the man looked up.

“My son and wife died a little over a year ago,” he clarified quietly, clearly having a hard time admitting it. “They were ill and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I didn’t know what to do with myself… in my grief, I thought maybe I’d quit advanced schooling altogether… maybe forfeit more than that. I didn’t sleep well for weeks, and I was plagued by nightmares of them… until he came along.”

“There’s a dragon in your dreams?” Stephen inquired and finally Kaecilius looked at him, nodding.

“He’s been helping me cope with everything… but it only works while I’m sleeping, and so often I forget much of what we talk about when I wake up. He’s been there for me when I didn’t have anyone else… and I’d like him to be with me further, to help me cope in the waking world.”

Tony and Stephen momentarily exchanged glances as if communicating in some way through a simple look alone, it was Stephen who spoke up next.

"A dream dragon... this would make it the second one summoned in recent memory, other than me. I have no idea who it could be but if you two have been communicating with one another, there is little we could do to tell you no even if the academy forbade it." Stephen spoke lowly and calm, choosing his words carefully.

"You would not be participating in the summoning ceremony, traditionally at least if what you say is true," Tony added quietly. "You would need to sleep first before your companion is summoned to the waking world."

Kaecilius kept a steeled gaze on Stephen and the two looked between one-another as if they were both in some way reading one another and the drake nodded soundly.

"Tony," Stephen looked over at the engineer who sighed and turned around to dig through the shelf of books he had in his office, among them the tome that Fury had passed onto him upon his retirement - the same book of conjuration he'd used to summon Stephen.

"I expect to get this back after you are done, I trust you know what to do if what you say is true." He procured the heavy tome and handed it over to Kaecilius who took in its ornate design and handled it as carefully as a priceless artifact.

"Man, I'm going to have a lot of paperwork to deal with after this, and you just added an unnecessary amount more meetings to my schedule because of this - just so you know." The conjuration professor shook his head.

"Forgive me, it was not my intent, but I will not waste this opportunity. I know my responsibilities, and if there is anything I can do to alleviate the troubles this may cause I am fully prepared to deal with such consequences."

Tony smirked. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do," he warned.

"And don't do anything he _ would _ for that matter," Stephen added playfully, and Kaecilius seemed confused for a moment before he showed the first semblance of a smile in what felt like the first time they'd known him.

“Thank you, Professors,” Kaecilius smiled, giving Stephen a curt nod as well before getting to his feet and holding the book carefully. “... this means the world to me.”

“If you ever need anything, Kaecilius, please ask. What you’ve gone through isn’t something I’d wish on anyone… so I want to make sure that you don’t have to face something like that again.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

* * *

They were prepared for a lot of things the next morning as they set up for class. It was early, and Stephen was clearly fidgety as he paced the lecture hall, glancing at the door now and then.

“Relax, Stephen. They’ll arrive when they arrive,” Tony chuckled a little, trying to allow the laughter to conceal his own nervousness.

Sure, he had students before who’d had dragons of their own… but this was the first time a student of his had summoned a dream dragon - if he’d even managed it. And if he hadn’t, given what he’d gone through already, Tony had to prepare for that as well.

When the door opened, however, he heard Stephen’s low growl and immediately saw his larger draconic form take up the floor space in front of his desk, preventing him from even seeing whatever had set his lover off. The dragon’s rumbling resonated in his chest, and he could feel the uneasy vibrations in the stone at his throat, the stone warm and the veins of gold that held it together contrastingly cool to the touch.

“Stephen, what’s up? I thought you’d gotten over this aversion to other dragons…” he teased, once again trying to ease his own anxiety.

“Dormammu.”

That stopped Tony cold.

The summoner felt every fibre in his body tense as he saw the dark feathers of the beast that seemed to shelter itself behind Kaecilius.

For a moment Tony held his breath - they had parted on amicable terms when they left Dormammu in the dream realm, and therein he thought was the last he'd seen of the dark-feathered, once nightmare-turned beast.

But here he was, and all memories of the occurrence were brought to light once more in his mind, a flash of the troubles and tribulations they'd all gone through. What he'd put Stephen through, what he'd put Tony through - there was not a soul in the current world this dragon's malice at the time hadn't effected and he was fully aware that Dormammu knew his position.

However, unlike the malicious creature he'd found that had desperately tried to tear Stephen's and his relationship apart at the pinnacle of his focus, the beast looked subdued and cautious, staying close to his summoner, eyes averted and ears lowered as they walked into the room.

He seemed to avoid any and all eye-contact beyond his summoner's with his once deep crimson eyes having softened to rose and gold. All eyes were on them as members of the class whispered to one another. They weren't aware who the dragon was, just that there was another dragon in the class summoned from one of the students who'd been considered so far behind.

Tony clasped a hand over the heart and he put a hand on Stephen's arm as he stepped forward and went to Kaecilius. The dream drake seemed to calm some, but if anyone was deeply disturbed here it would be Stephen, who's gaze was steeled on the other dragon.

As if words not need be exchanged, the young summoner and his drake made their way over to the teacher, Dormammu pressing in close to the older man's side, and they stopped in front of Tony.

"I hope you understand what this means Kaecilius." Tony's jaw set and he stood tense as he looked over the two of them.

"Trust me. I am more than prepared for whatever consequences this may cause, and whatever hardships may arise through his presence in this world."

Though Stephen was clearly uneasy - obvious in the way his feathers were ruffled - his tail curled around Tony and he rested his head on his summoner’s shoulder, watching the two of them as Dormammu shrunk, skittering up Kaecilius’ arm and draping himself across his shoulders. He didn’t look threatening. In fact, he seemed to be attempting to make himself look as small and unthreatening as possible as he bundled up in his spot, clearly protecting Kaecilius despite that.

“Very well. Take your seat, summoner Kaecilius. This weekend we will relocate you to your new accommodations.”

“Thank you, sir,” Kaecilius bowed slightly before heading over to his desk and sitting.

“Kaecilius is well warded,” Stephen informed him, “but I do not sense any malice from Dormammu. Uneasiness, yes… but no hostility or ill-will.”

“He was lonely. They both were,” Tony sighed, running his fingers through Stephen’s feathers before making his way to the podium. “Now they’re not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are! AM is all finished! Thank you all so much for embarking on this journey with us! With this, our two dragon stories are complete and we'll be moving on to other tales. Your support has been so appreciated, and meant the world to us! ❤️
> 
> We're going to take a little break in our regular schedule to try and get something of a buffer built up again, and for some life events going on this month. Amy will still be working away at her solo fics in the meantime, and we're definitely still _writing_ we just usually have a slight buffer by this point.
> 
> You can find information and updates on our Twitter accounts:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


End file.
